The Touchstone of Ra
by stuckbeingrachel
Summary: [A vision, a necklace, and a journal brings mystery back to the House of Anubis. A new threat will emerge as Sibuna delves deeper and deeper into a new Egyptian curse.] New multi-chapter! Extra Genres: Romance, Friendship, Humor, Suspense. R&R! *The beautiful cover you see was made by the lovely xXAquaMangoXx!*
1. Chapter 1

**Okay...this multi-chapter was requested by mbav57704! This is sort of what I think might happen in the HOA movie, if a lot of the things in the third season didn't happen. I know, a lot of you will probably be wanting some Jeroy (bleh), but I don't do Jeroy. That couple makes me cry because Jara is supposed to be together. So I'm not going to cry just so y'all can have some Jeroy. Deal with it. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Mara, can I borrow your notes for history?" KT asked, stepping into the common room.

Mara looked up from her chess game and nodded with a smile at her friend. She shuffled through her book bag and pulled out her notebook as Jerome moved his bishop.

"Check." He announced, sitting back in his chair, waiting for her to make her move.

"Where?" she looked back at the bored, brown eyes searching for the play, and she held up her notebook for KT.

The American thanked her quietly and left the room. Mara stared at the board for a minute and then reached forward, moving her queen to the left side of the board.

"Checkmate." She grinned triumphantly.

"What?" he jumped up, scanning the pieces for his mistake. "Oh, shoot."

"I'm sorry, J," she giggled, reaching across to brush his dirty-blonde hair away from his sparkling blue eyes.

"No you're not." He grumbled.

"You're right, I'm not." She laughed.

He glared at her halfheartedly and then started laughing with her.

It was several weeks after the world had been saved by Sibuna. The school was back in order, everyone was friends again, and everyone was happy. The end of the school year was nearing and all the students were cramming for final exams.

Patricia and Eddie had finally sorted out all their problems and were now together, closer than ever. Willow and Alfie had started spending more time together, discovering that they were much more alike than they ever thought. KT, Fabian, and Joy, though still single, were happy as well.

"Hey, lovebirds," Eddie greeted, taking a bit out of a meatball sandwich.

"Hey, Eddie," Mara smiled, packing up the chess pieces.

"Edison," Jerome nodded in acknowledgement.

"What are you guys doing?" he asked.

"Nothing, we just finished our chess game; the fifth that I won." Mara replied, smirking at her boyfriend.

Jerome just stared at her boredly. Over the last month, she had gotten much better at the game. He was beginning to think that she did research on how to win every time. He believed that she was playing mind games on you when you played with her. She would move one piece to a bad place, just to confuse you, and then you'd end up losing.

"Aw, Jerry, does it hurt to get creamed by your own girlfriend?" Eddie chuckled.

He leaned his elbow on the fireplace mantel so he was standing next to his friends.

"Shut up, Junior."

Eddie smirked, tapping the mantel. He was about to retort when suddenly, a flash of light blinded him for a second. He blinked. After the flash, he briefly saw the neck of a woman, and a necklace hung there, sparkling in the light. And as soon as he'd seen it, it was gone. He was looking at the wall in the Anubis House living room. He looked around and his eyes landed on Mara and Jerome, who gave him questioning looks.

"Dude, we were talking to you." Jerome said.

"Sorry, but I have to, um, go." He mumbled, fleeing the room quickly. Patricia was stepping down from the staircase landing when he grabbed her hand and pulled her down the boy's corridor. She protested, trying to break free from his grip. He pushed her into his room and grabbed Alfie by the collar as he walked by. He shut the door behind him once he was in the room as well and leaned his back on it.

Fabian and KT stared at the three wide-eyed.

"Everything okay, guys?" KT asked hesitantly.

"I don't know, he just randomly shoved us in here." Patricia said, annoyed at her boyfriend. She crossed her arms over her chest and sat on his bed.

"Eddie?" Fabian spoke up, watching his roommate with worried eyes.

"Would you guys hate me if I said the mystery isn't over?" he asked.

"Oh, man…." Alfie murmured, running a hand over his face. He sat on the floor, leaning back on the trunk at the end of Fabian's bed.

"What do you mean it's not over?" Patricia questioned. "We just saved the world from ultimate destruction; I don't think this mystery can get any crazier than that."

"I had another vision."

"What did you see?" asked KT.

"A woman's neck—"

"We're looking for a woman's neck?" Alfie said in disgust.

"No, around her neck was this necklace. I can't really describe it, but it was pretty. And it's obviously an Egyptian relic. I know the house gave me this vision, I was touching the mantel when it happened." He slid to the floor.

"Okay, so we're looking for a necklace that we don't know anything about. This will be the easiest mystery yet." Patricia muttered sarcastically.

"Here, let's see what kind of jewelry was found in Tut's tomb." Fabian suggested, typing on his laptop quickly.

The others gathered around him, peeking over his shoulders to see the laptop's screen. The webpage loaded to a site that was all about Egypt. He skimmed through the sections and selected the tab that read _Tut Artifacts_. He browsed through the many pictures, but after double checking, they came up empty.

"Well, I'll have to do more than just that I guess. I'll head over to the library and see what I can dig up." He said, standing up. He stuffed his laptop in his bag and left the room.

"What now, Slimeball?" Patricia asked, immediately ready for the next move Sibuna will make.

"I have no idea." He mumbled, running a hand through his hair.

* * *

**Well...that was the first chapter...trust me, they will get longer! Review?**

**If anyone would like to make a cover for this story, please PM me! I need one! :)**

_**And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God's house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. -Hebrews 10:19-23**_

**-Rachel**


	2. Chapter 2

**I decided to update real quick, but the next update won't come as quickly... enjoy!**

* * *

Jerome looked up from his place, lying on his bed, when a knock sounded on the other side of his bedroom door. "Come in," he said.

"Hey, Gerbil," Poppy's voice piped, her head poking around the door.

"Hey, Poopster, what are you doing here?" he asked, sitting up and bookmarking his page.

"Dad and I had something to give to you." She replied, opening the door wider, revealing John Clarke behind her holding a brown, cardboard box in his arms.

"Hey, dad," Jerome greeted.

John smiled his reply. He was still a tiny bit awkward around Jerome. Their relationship was still slightly on the edge and it was difficult for him to try and say something without messing everything up. So he chose to stay quiet every once and awhile.

"We were going through a bunch of stuff in storage, and these are some things that we found. A couple of them were yours, some things are things we don't need or want, and there are a few other things that dad just tossed in there." Poppy explained, sitting on the end of Alfie's bed.

"Oh, alright; thanks for bringing it over." Jerome said, taking the box from his father. He opened the top and peered inside. At first glance it looked like there were books, stuffed animals, pictures, and a few toys. But Jerome did look closer, and it seemed that it was filled with more than that.

"So, if you don't want any of it, just throw it out or—" Poppy started.

"Donate it to charity?" he finished knowingly.

"Exactly, which will you do?" she asked.

"Donate it, of course; why throw away perfectly good stuffed animals?" he scoffed, pulling a teddy bear out of the box.

"Well, there are some things in there that I found that belonged to your grandparents. I thought that you'd want something that belonged to your grandfather." John said softly.

Jerome looked down, tossing the bear back into the box. "Yeah, thanks."

"Well, at least you got to spend time with him." Poppy grumbled, looking at the floor and crossing her arms.

"You're lucky you met him, Pops, he was an incredible man." Jerome stated, closing the box up.

"So I've heard." She sighed sadly. After a moment of silence, she perked up and smiled, clasping her hands in front of her. "We were going to go get some ice cream; do you want to come with us?"

"I'm sorry, I'd love to, but I'm studying with Mara today. We've got exams coming up." He replied sheepishly.

"Oh, right, we don't want to drag you away from that. Study hard, Jerome; I know you'll get the best grade possible." John smiled.

"And say hey to Mara for us. And a hug for me," Poppy smiled.

"Anything to hug Mara Jaffray." He joked with a small grin, standing in the doorway as they shuffled into the hallway. "I'll see you guys later."

"Later, Gerbil," Poppy grinned, waving quickly, and she and her father left the building.

Jerome shut his door and turned to the box sitting on his bed. He opened it again and pulled each thing out, one by one, inspecting it, wondering if he'd want to keep it. He soon came to the bottom of the box. He had four piles, one for charity, one for trash, one to keep, and one for Alfie.

He had a few toys he knew Alfie would like in that pile. In the charity pile he had a couple of books and all of the stuffed animals (leaving out the white and purple unicorn that Poppy had given to him when they were little). In the trash pile were a few notebooks that had random doodles. And in the pile that he intended to keep were a few things that intrigued him.

There was an old, leather-bound notebook, a wooden box with a lock but without a key, and a key, but that one didn't fit the lock.

He pushed the other piles away and picked up the journal. Inside was scribbling done by someone unknown to him. It wasn't his father's handwriting, and after a quick comparison with a letter his grandfather had written to him, decided he had never met the writer. He flipped through the pages. None of the entries were signed, but they did show the dates, which explained why he'd never met them; it had been written in the 20s.

He sighed. Why did his father have this? Or did his grandfather have it first? He tossed the book to the end of the bed and grabbed the box. He spun it around in his hands, looking at every piece of it, trying to find another way to open it, but he never found anything. He had heard a gentle tap of something hitting the lid when he turned it over, so he knew he should keep it and try to get it open.

On the lid was a bright orange and yellow sun. He traced around the yellow rim of the sun, and then a thought hit him. He snapped his fingers and set the box down gently, shooting off the bed. He left his room and pressed his ear to Fabian and Eddie's. He heard Sibuna's voices but didn't pay any attention to what they were saying. He just needed to know they weren't in KT's room.

He also knew that Joy and Willow were doing something girly that he didn't want to think about, so their room was empty and free. He slipped in and paced over to KT's side. He shuffled through her drawers and after a minute of no luck, he found what he'd been searching for. The key her grandfather had given her.

He didn't feel right about this, borrowing her key without asking, but he couldn't help but want to open the box as soon as possible. He needed that key. He'd borrow it for a minute and then return it.

He hurried back down to his room before anyone noticed him coming out of the girls' corridor when no girls were down there, and sat down at the edge of his bed. He put the box on his lap and put the key in the keyhole. With a simple twist, he heard the lock click open and he silently thanked KT. But why did the key work on a box that belonged to his family?

He jumped when he heard a knock at his door. He tossed the key into the box, hearing it fall between the books to the bottom.

"Jerome?" Mara peeked in and he grinned.

"Jaffray, just in time; I'm about to make a discovery, come on." He motioned for her to sit down next to him.

She smiled warily but shut the door and sat down.

"Poppy and my dad dropped off some things, and this was with those items. I don't know what is in it, and I want you here when I find out. Oh, dad said hi, and," he wrapped her up in a tight hug. She giggled into his shoulder, slipping her arms around his neck. She didn't question the second hug, she just enjoyed it and his cologne as it surrounded her. "Poppy wanted me to hug you."

"Ah," she nodded. "Go ahead and open it, I wanna see what's inside."

"Alright, hopefully it's something good; it's supposed to be a family heirloom." He told her. He lifted the lid slowly for dramatic effect. When they could see what was inside, he looked at it emotionlessly. "Oh."

"Oh? My goodness, Jerome, it's beautiful." Mara hit his shoulder gently.

Set in purple velvet was a thick gold chain with a medium sized, tear shaped pendant of gold and turquoise.

He held it up by its chain, the sun that shone through the windows making it sparkle. He looked at her. "Yeah, but it's a girl's necklace; I have no use for it."

"But it's a family heirloom; you should keep it. It looks valuable."

"I bet its costume jewelry." He shrugged.

"Fine, but you should still keep it, and keep it safe." She instructed.

Jerome looked at the necklace and then to his girlfriend. He nodded, setting the box down and looping the necklace around her neck.

"Jerome—"

He shushed her and pulled her black hair over the chain. The gold was cold against her warm neck and she shivered when his fingers brushed against her collarbones.

"What safer place than around the neck of the girl I'm in love with?" he asked softly, blue eyes boring into her brown ones. She stared back at him.

"Love," she whispered in shock and happiness.

"Love," he repeated just as quietly. "I love you, Mara. I am so completely and hopelessly in love with you."

She let out a short breath of surprise. He gently stroked her cheek bone and leant in so their noses brushed. "I'm sorry I didn't say it before, when you first said it to me."

"I'm just happy you said it."

Jerome closed the distance between them and pressed his lips onto hers. It was short, sweet, and passionate, and just enough to make them both happy to be with each other. Some people thought that a passionate kiss was hot and heavy and made you moan, but Jerome and Mara knew from personal experience that the most passionate kiss is just a single peck, one that you could feel all the love that person had for you.

Mara stood. "I'm gonna go, I have to—"

"Show the girls your new necklace." He finished with a teasing smirk.

"Yes," she blushed and bent down, pecking his pale cheek quickly. And then she was gone.

He leaned back, leaning his shoulders against the wall behind him, crossing his arms over his chest. He snapped out of his lovesick trance and grabbed KT's key out of the box. Sliding it into his pocket, he left the room and looked into the kitchen and then the living room, but no one was in either room. Fabian and Eddie's room was empty as well.

He ran a hand over his face in frustration. "Great,"

He jogged up the steps and stepped up to KT, Joy, and Willow's room. He heard the girls talking on the other side of the door and he took a deep breath, racking his brain for an excuse why he had the key.

He knocked lowly.

The door swung open almost immediately with a frantic looking KT behind it.

"Yes, Jerome, what is it?"

"Lose something?" he asked, holding the key up.

"Oh my, gosh, thank you; where did you find it?" she thanked, taking it from him. She held it tightly as if it was going to be ripped out of her hand any second.

"It was by the front door," he replied with a casual shrug.

"Thanks again,"

"No problem," he nodded. He looked over her and winked a Mara before strutting down the hallway. He couldn't believe she believed him. She may be just a little too trusting.

* * *

"So, he just gave it to you? He doesn't want to keep it and give it to one of his kids later in life?" Joy asked.

"No, he said he wants me to wear it. I'm never going to take it off." Mara sighed happily.

"Never," Patricia echoed.

"Never,"

* * *

**So review? :)**

**_But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. -2 Corinthians 4:7-11_**

**-Rachel**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow, this came sooner than I thought it would...**

**Okay, so this Spanish comment popped up, and in reply to your request, cruzguadalupe6: (and not to be rude but...) HA! Sorry, babe, there is no way in hell I'd ever do Jeroy. Just the name makes me wanna puke. This is a completely Jeroy-less story; so if you're going to be bored with it, fine, don't read it. Jeroy is forced and stupid and Jara is perfect and they are _soul mates_. **

**And those are my thoughts on the subject.**

**On to the story! Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Fabian sped-walked into the common room and sat down on the sofa. Eddie and Patricia sat on the sofa across from him and KT and Alfie were seated in the two arm chairs.

"Alright, does this look familiar?" he asked, holding up a picture, printed on a white sheet of paper. The stone in the picture was a shining purple but Eddie frowned, shaking his head.

"Nope, that's not it."

"Do you know what color it is?" Fabian asked, shuffling through the pile of papers he had in his lap.

"Gold and blue," Eddie shrugged.

"This one," Fabian held up another photo after disregarding several papers.

Eddie shook his head and Fabian showed him another necklace. Eddie gave another negative answer and Fabian displayed a bright blue gem on the next page. Eddie shook his head silently. This went on until half the remaining pile was gone. And then Eddie shot up from his laid back position and pointed at the picture Fabian was putting down.

"Wait, that was the stone." He announced.

The other Sibunas perked up and peeked at the picture. Patricia and KT's eyes grew wide and they looked at each other in realization.

"Well, this is a turquoise stone, set in a gold boarder and—KT, Patricia, what's wrong?"

"We know where it is." KT replied.

"You do; where?" Alfie asked.

"Jerome gave it to Mara as a present. That's the necklace he gave her." Patricia responded, face palming. She knew how difficult it would be to get it off the girl.

"No, it can't be; if it is, it's probably just costume jewelry." Fabian shook his head. How could Jerome have gotten it?

"It looked pretty real to me." KT stated.

"Yeah, but the real problem isn't whether or not it's real. She's not going to take it off, she loves it too much." Patricia explained.

"I think its Jerome that she loves too much; she could care less about the necklace. She just loves that he'd give something so important to her."

"Okay, so, we need to find out if it's real or not. We need to get it off her. So you girls need to find a way to do that." Eddie instructed.

"Us? Why can't you do it, doofus?" Patricia scoffed.

"Because you two are girls." He shrugged.

"What if you were a girl?"

"But I'm not."

"I'm not too sure about that; maybe that's why you won't ask about the necklace." She mumbled.

"Fine, I'll ask about the necklace." He muttered, rubbing his forehead.

"So what were you going to say before, Fabian?" Alfie asked.

"It's called the Touchstone of Ra, the Egyptian god of the sun. Why it's called a 'touchstone', no one really knows because a touchstone is usually a brand name of some sort. According to Egyptian stories, Ra had the stone created for him and only him, as a key. To what, no one knows. Some people think it's the key to the underworld, or a key to a lost city, a key to heaven, a key to a temple of treasures, a key to a tomb; no one knows for sure. But everyone has their own way of telling the story."

"What's one of the stories?" Eddie questioned.

"Well, one tells of Ra, banishing several of the Egyptian gods to the underworld for defying him. He had it locked up, and he had a special key made that would be the only way to open the underworld again. And as a way to keep the key safe, he hid it by flinging it a random direction, knowing that whoever found it would just think it was a stone that could be put on a chain and used as a necklace." Fabian finished with a shrug.

"What about the story of a tomb?" KT wondered, moving to sit next to Fabian so she could look over his shoulder at the picture he held.

"Well, some people believe that Ra wasn't just a god, but once was a king; a sort of 'lost king' to put it shortly. There is no record of Ra ever being a pharaoh, but it's possible 'Ra' was just a short name or a nickname of sorts. He might have been a pharaoh that had been so loved and powerful that he became referred to as a god. It's possible, but not likely."

"So he might have been buried in a tomb and the necklace is a key to open it?" Patricia piped in.

"Interesting…" Alfie mumbled thoughtfully, pronouncing each syllable slowly as he stroked his chin.

The others smiled at him with a quiet, group chuckle, and then focused on the matter at hand once again.

Eddie took a deep breath, and as the leader of Sibuna, he gave out his orders. "Alright, our tasks: find out what story is true, and get that necklace; it's obviously a key."

* * *

**Very short chapter, but I promise, each chapter from now on will be really long since I want to only have like, 10 chapters in this story. **

**REVIEW SEAGULLS!**

_**My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. -Colossians 2:2-3**_

_**-**_**Rachel**


	4. Chapter 4

**I told you they'd get longer...4,038 words! Enjoy!**

* * *

"Okay, there's Mara, let's get over there and ask her about the necklace before Jerry pops up." Eddie rolled his green eyes and began to walk in the direction he'd pointed at.

His path was cut off when Jerome stepped in front of him, just like Eddie had said he would.

"What are you doing?" he asked in a low voice.

"Nothing, what are you doing?" Eddie replied coolly.

"Look, Sweety, I don't know what you and the Scooby gang are up to, but I don't want you near my girlfriend, is that clear?"

"Jerry, we live in the same house. We're going to cross paths sometime." The American's eyes glowed, challenging the taller blonde.

"Swear to me you'll leave her out of this new mystery of yours." Eddie opened his mouth to retort and Jerome cut him off, "And don't try to deny it; I can see it in your eyes. You need her help. Go ask another genius. I've got Einstein's number if you'd like to talk to him about it."

Alfie let out a small laugh, but covered it with a cough.

"Swear it, Edison." Jerome ordered forcefully.

Eddie broke their eye contact and Jerome smirked triumphantly. Submission.

"Fine, I swear it, Jerry." He ground out.

"Good, so stay away from Mara." He warned, and stalked off without a second glance or another word.

"Great," Patricia muttered as Jerome grabbed his girlfriend's arm, smiling lovingly, and pulling her down the hallway and away from them.

* * *

"I really want that necklace…" Eddie grumbled, staring at the ceiling.

He and his friends were seated in an empty class room between periods. He was splayed out on his back, lying on a desk in the front row. Patricia and KT were sharing a desk beside that one, and Alfie was bouncing around the back of the room, with Fabian researching near him, giving the dark-skinned boy an annoyed glance every few minutes.

"I think I'm going to call my Uncle Ade and ask him about the stone." Fabian announced, ignoring Eddie's complaining.

"No," Eddie shook his head, sitting up and spinning around to face his roommate. "Bad move, bro."

"Eddie, I've gotten help from him before, with Nina; he's family. Don't worry, he can be trusted." He assured him. "I might call Jasper as well."

"Now, don't do that; he worked for Rufus in the past." Alfie pointed out.

"He was being blackmailed." Fabian defended his godfather.

"But really Fabian, he could be getting blackmailed right now, for all we know." Alfie pointed out. "Let's just stick with Ade."

"Yeah, I was thinking about that; who besides us is after the stone?" KT wondered.

"Yeah, are we going to have a new psychopath to avoid?" Patricia questioned.

"I don't know; I guess that's a new task we have: find out if anyone else is after this thing. And with our luck, someone most likely is." Eddie finished bitterly, lying back down.

Sibuna fell silent again. Eddie with his arm slung over his eyes and Patricia tapping her nails against the wooden desk. Alfie had stop bouncing and was now leaning against the back wall, doing a hand stand. KT had switched desks and sat with Fabian to try and help him with research.

Patricia sighed heavily and broke the comfortable silence. "What if I tried to get the necklace on my own? I'm one of Mara's best friends, and Jerome can't force _her _not to hang out with me."

"That's a good idea, Yacker." Eddie complimented. "Try that during lunch, 'kay?"

"I don't take orders from you, doofus, I'm gonna do it right now." She scoffed and strutted out of the room, slinging her big bag over her shoulder.

The Goth's eyes flitted up and down the hallway in search of her roommate. She spotted her on the left side, marching through the double doors to the lounge.

"Hey, Mars," she smiled once she caught up to her. She linked their arms, just like she had done before the whole mystery thing had come between them. "I need your help."

"Patricia, I saw Joy with Willow she's not missing; I can't stall for you. Remember the hedgehogs?" the raven-haired girl raised her dark eyebrows.

"No, nothing like that; and yes, I do remember the hedgehogs. Hedgehogs…" she mumbled in disbelief. "Actually, I need help with my outfit for a date I have with Eddie. He's making some fancy dinner that's not sandwiches or pancakes. I thought I'd dress up. But the problem is I don't have a necklace to go with my outfit. I was wondering if I could borrow this one?" she asked with fake hesitance.

"Patricia, I would really love to lend it to you," Mara started.

"But?"

"But, Jerome gave this to me as more than just a gift. It's a family heirloom and he gave it to me for safekeeping. I couldn't let someone else wear it. Where would his trust for me go?" she asked, but the question was more so directed at herself than Patricia.

"Oh, okay, but could you at least think about? The date's tonight, I don't really have much time to go out and buy something new, you know?"

"Yeah, but I won't change my answer, I'm sorry." Mara smiled in apology and sat down with her book.

Patricia left the room calmly, but once the doors had closed behind her, she huffed and stomped into the classroom her friends were waiting for her.

"Well?" Eddie prompted.

She sat down at her desk and slumped down in the seat. "Fail." She snapped.

"What?" he groaned.

"That necklace is a Clarke family heirloom; Jerome gave it to her for safekeeping, more than just a present. She's not going to take it off for the fear of him losing his trust in her." She explained.

"See? She's holding onto it because of love, not just because she has to. Jerome and Mara are head over heels in love with each other; if Mara gave him a necklace that expressed her trust and love for him, he'd never take it off either." KT pointed out.

"Yeah, I agree; Jerome loves Mara more than even he can explain. He'd do anything for her, and she's the exact same way." Alfie spoke up, slouching down from his handstand. He sat on the floor, and leaned back slowly, lying flat on his back on the cold, tiled floor. "Oh, head rush…"

"That's usually what happens when the blood rushes to your head, Alfie." Fabian chuckled.

* * *

"Mara, that necklace looks positively divine on you! I love it! You're so lucky that Jerome would give you something like that. It looks really old and valuable." Willow commented, staring at the necklace around Mara's neck. "It looks ancient. Did you ever think about doing research on it and find out the origin and stuff?"

Mara's head shot up from her book and she smiled at her friend. "Willow, that's a great idea!"

Willow smiled proudly and scooted over on the bed so Mara could sit down as well. The raven-haired girl opened her laptop and typed into the waiting search bar and scanned the results.

"Mm…it'd help if I'd known specifically what I'm looking for. I bet there were loads of these made." She stated. She lifted the stone to her face, inspecting the back and the rim. "There's no company name, or make, or year, or anything."

They fell silent again and Mara clicked on the fourth website that had shown good results in the search.

"…what am I wearing?" Mara asked once the page loaded.

* * *

"Uncle Ade," Fabian grinned, hugging his relative.

"Fabian, it's very nice to see you again." The man smiled. "Oh, where is that girlfriend of yours…Nina?"

Fabian's smile dropped but he forced a small, fake one and motioned for him to sit down. "She couldn't make it to school this year. So, uh, I have another question that requires your never-ending knowledge of antiques."

"Yes, my boy, what is it?" he asked, adjusting his glasses ever so slightly.

"Well, recently, my friend has received a gift from her boyfriend, a necklace. The stone on the necklace is unusual and I've never seen anything like. I haven't been able to find anything on it except that it might have been antique, and that's where you come in. Do you know anything about this?" Fabian held the picture of the necklace out to his uncle.

Ade peered down at the photo and furrowed his brow as he tried to remember anything that had to do with this particular piece of jewelry. "Ah, yes, this is not exactly antique as you said, Fabian. It appears to be something much more valuable than that. I suggest calling your godfather. It looks more ancient than antique." He chuckled.

"Oh, thank you, Uncle. I'm sorry I asked you to come all the way down here for you to tell me that." Fabian muttered sheepishly.

"No, it's perfectly alright. Do you know where that dashing young woman, Trudy is at the moment? I'd like to say hello."

"Yeah, she's in the laundry room, through the kitchen." Fabian pointed behind him with a small smirk.

Ade made his way toward the kitchen and Fabian hurried out of the common room and into his and Eddie's.

The others looked up at him and raised their eyebrows expectantly.

"I need to call Jasper." He shrugged, grabbing his cell off his nightstand and dialing his godfather's number. "It's definitely Egyptian, not even close to antique. So, I'll ask Jasper about it and then he should be able to give us plenty of—Jasper, it's Fabian. Yes, I wanted to ask you a few questions about a necklace. Ade said that it looked Egyptian, and I was wondering if you could take a look at a picture and tell me all you can about it."

He was silent for a few minutes while Jasper spoke on the other end of the line.

"Thank you…yes, I'll send it right away…alright…thank you, you too." And he hung up. He looked to his friends and hopped onto his bed, opening his laptop. "Send the picture and wait for a reply."

"Alright, in the meantime, while we're waiting for the reply, let's find a way to get the necklace." Eddie stressed each of his words. He knew the necklace was a key part in the mystery, obviously. But he couldn't stop thinking about it. It was like when KT was trying to safe her great-grandfather; she had thought about nothing but that. He was the exact same way. "Mara's got to take it off sometime. Like, before she takes a shower?"

"She takes it into the bathroom with her and locks the door. She never forgets it. She hangs it in front of her mirror so she remembers it before she leaves." KT explained, recalling that morning.

"I'm going to go say goodbye to my Uncle." Fabian announced, hearing Trudy and Ade's voices float down the hall to the main door.

"I'm going to try to find out if any of the teachers know about the Touchstone." Alfie stated.

"And how are you going to do that?" Patricia questioned.

"I don't know, but KT will help me, right?" the dark-skinned boy smiled hopefully.

"Of course, Alfie." She smiled, standing up and brushing her blue jeans off.

The group dispersed and Patricia and Eddie leant back against his bed, simultaneously sighing.

Jerome shook his head. The things he hears when he eavesdrops gets weirder every time. Why did Sibuna want his girlfriend's necklace? What did they want with it? Why was it important? A new mystery, he was sure, but why _Mara's_ necklace; a Clarke family heirloom.

One thing he knew for sure though, he needed to make sure they didn't get it, and he needed to find out why they wanted it so badly.

* * *

"What are you two whispering about now?" Joy asked, butting into Patricia and Eddie's hushed conversation.

"Nothing, just my dad, and the weird things he says to me." Eddie shook his head, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"You know I'm still a Sibuna, right?" Joy snapped, placing a hand on her hip.

"I thought—" the American started.

"Don't listen to Fabian; he's wrong. Sibuna made me a Sibuna last year. I haven't quit or been shut out. So, please, just tell me what's going on. Maybe I can help?" she suggested. Her brown eyes pleaded with them, but they just watched her, not showing a single sign of submission.

"Joy, maybe you should just leave it alone, yeah?" Patricia tried to reason with her friend.

"Guys, come on, you know I can't. I'm a descendant. I am just as deep as you." She protested.

Eddie and Patricia looked at each other warily.

"Maybe, Joy, okay? We don't really know. We'll talk to the others and see what we can do. But for now, just let it go." Eddie finished slowly, making sure she understood every word.

* * *

"You know that necklace makes you look even more beautiful than before, right?" Jerome said absently, doodling on the corner of Mara's notebook paper.

"Jerome, please stop, I don't want anything bad or perverted on the paper I'm handing into Mr. Sweet tomorrow." She scolded, but a blush rose to her cheeks.

"It's nothing bad or perverted," he promised. He kissed her cheek and settled back in the sofa, starting off where he last left off in the book he was most recently reading.

"…I love you, too." She replied to his doodle and he looked up at her with a loving smile.

"Beansybop, can you promise me something?"

"Sure," she nodded, a giddy smile slipping onto her face when he used his secret nickname for her.

"Always keep the necklace with you. Never take it off. Promise me, you'll never let anything happen to it."

"Of course, I promise. I'll never take it off. Nothing will ever happen to it as long as it's with me. Okay?"

"Thank you, darling." He smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and giving them an affectionate squeeze. "It's meant only for you. No one else should ever wear it. Even though I just laid eyes on it for the first time yesterday, it was always supposed to be yours; just like you were always meant to be mine, and I yours."

* * *

"So Joy wants to be a Sibuna?" KT confirmed.

Eddie sighed. "She's already a Sibuna from last year, but she's not a full fledge member. We're trying to decide if she should join in or not. We don't really need any extra help. We're just doing research—"

"And trying to get the necklace, and Joy could be the key to getting it." Fabian pointed out. "She's Mara's best friend, and she's one of the sneakiest people we know. And Jerome wouldn't know she's a Sibuna because we'll keep it a secret."

"Dude, that's a great idea. Jerome wouldn't suspect a thing. He would just think that they are talking girl." Alfie shrugged.

"Is that what guys think girls do?" Patricia scoffed. "'Talk girl'?"

"Not you, but other girls."

"Oh, well, that makes it okay," she rolled her green eyes.

"Okay, let's get Joy and we'll tell her what we need her to do." Eddie announced.

Patricia stood up. "I'll go."

Once she had left the room, Eddie turned to KT. "Can you call Frobisher and ask him about the necklace? He might know something, or he could research it for us while he's in Egypt."

"Totally," she nodded, taking out her phone. She left the room for a minute, cell pressed to her ear as she waited for Robert to answer the phone.

She closed the bedroom door behind her and bit her bottom lip when the fourth ring came through the receiver.

"Hello?" Harriet Denby's soft voice answered.

"Harriet, hi, it's KT," the American smiled.

"KT, hello, how are you?" the woman asked.

"I'm doing well, what about you?"

"Very well, thank you. Would you like to say hello to your grandfather?"

"Yeah, thanks," KT nodded out of habit, forgetting Harriet couldn't see her.

"KT," Robert's slightly strained voice rang.

"Hi, grandpa, I wanted to ask you a question related to Egypt, if you have the time, that is."

"No, no, anything for you, my dear; what's puzzling my granddaughter?" he chuckled.

"I was wondering if you know anything about a gold and turquoise necklace called the Touchstone of Ra; a friend of mine gave it to his girlfriend, and Eddie had an Osirian vision of the same necklace. We got some information on it, but still don't know much. Maybe you do?" she asked hopefully.

"Hm, the Touchstone of Ra. It doesn't sound familiar…hold on a moment, let me check my log."

She heard some ruffling of papers on the other line and after a few minutes of Robert grunting to himself, he came back to the phone. "I'm sorry, KT, I've never discovered something by that name; I've never even heard of it. I will ask around if you'd like; do some extra research?"

"If it doesn't interfere with your work, grandpa; I don't want you to lose focus on that."

"Don't worry about it; it's no problem." Robert assured her.

"Okay, thank you," KT smiled. Joy and Patricia came into her vision and she sighed. "I have to go, could you call me if you learn anything about it?"

"Of course, dear, have good day."

"You too," and with that, she hung up and follow her friends back into the room.

"Well?" Eddie prompted, looking up at her with hopeful eyes.

"He'll call me if he learns anything." She shrugged, sitting on the floor next to Alfie.

"He doesn't know anything? One of the greatest Egyptologists ever, and he doesn't know anything about something about an Egyptian relic?" Alfie scoffed.

"He doesn't know everything, Alfie." Fabian reminded, throwing him a look.

"So…" Joy drifted off from the end of Fabian's bed.

"Oh, Joy, right, you can be a Sibuna. In fact, we already have your first mission." Eddie grinned.

"Okay, then," she smiled. "What is it?"

"We need you to get Mara's new necklace off of her." Patricia answered.

"Why?" the brunette asked cautiously.

"Because it's an ancient Egyptian relic, and Jerome won't let us have it. He has forbidden us from going near her. But he doesn't know you're a Sibuna. It'll be easier for you to get it than any of us." Eddie explained.

"Okay, I'll do that—"

"Now; we need it now, Joy."

"Got it; I'll be back." She nodded a goodbye and left the room.

As she climbed up to the second floor, Joy thought over what she was about to do. What was she going to say? Why did she need the necklace? What was the story? Should she be doing this at all? Mara was one of her best friends; she couldn't stand doing this. But she promised she'd help.

She entered the room without knocking and hopped onto Patricia's bed with a smile. "Hey, Mara,"

"Hey, Joy, how are you?" the raven-haired girl smiled, looking up from her studying only for a moment to acknowledge her friend.

"I'm fine, what about you? How's paradise with your Jeromeo today?" she teased.

"Great, as per usual; ever since he told me he loved me, he hasn't stopped saying it, or giving me notes that say it. It's so sweet." She sighed happily, brown eyes flitting to her picture of Jerome on her nightstand.

"And that necklace…wow, I wish I had a boyfriend that would give me something like that."

"Yeah, it is beautiful, isn't it?" Mara giggled quietly, biting her bottom lip. She reached down and took the pendant in her hand, holding it up so she could see it; a habit that she had developed so she would always check that it was still there.

"Yeah, hey, do you think that maybe I could—" the brunette started but was cut off by Mara, who looked sorry, but also a little annoyed. She could understand why everyone thought it was pretty, but she didn't know why everyone suddenly wanted to borrow it. They all had their own jewelry.

"Joy, I'm sorry, but like I told Patricia, the necklace is not available for borrowing. Jerome trusted me with it; he doesn't want me to take it off. It's important to him, and therefore it is important to me. He told me that it was meant for me; that no one else should wear it because it was always supposed to be mine."

"Oh, well, I guess no one can really break that kind of trust, huh? No one could take it from you?"

"Over my dead body," Mara confirmed confidently.

"Alright,"

"I'm sorry, Joy; you understand, don't you?"

"Of course; if the guy I love asked me to keep one of his family heirlooms safe, I wouldn't let anyone touch it either." She answered with a light chuckle. She bid Mara a final goodbye and then slipped out of the room.

She snapped her fingers. "Dang it…"

* * *

"Great, never going to take it off, only meant for her, she won't trust it with anyone—Mara Jaffray has become a major obstacle. She is what stands between us and the necklace," Patricia sighed.

"...and it's going to be practically impossible to break her down." Eddie muttered.

"Fabian?" KT looked up hopefully.

"Jasper hasn't answered my email yet."

"And KT?" Alfie turned to her.

"No, my grandpa hasn't called me yet, Alfie."

"Okay…"

"Eddie, are you okay?" Joy asked worriedly, noticing his suddenly tense posture.

"I'm fine…I'm just suddenly really stressed about this whole thing, and we're barely into the mystery. I guess it's just because we don't have any threats to worry about, so I keep worry one my pop up somewhere."

"Don't worry; we'll get the stone before the bad guy makes himself known." Patricia reassured him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Right, we'll get the stone, and sooner than we should. We're gonna need to get it off her tonight." He declared.

"How," KT urged.

"We're gonna steal it."

* * *

"Alfie," Willow greeted happily, sipping from her pink smoothie. "Would you like one?"

"Could you make mine blue?" he asked with a smile.

"Sure," she nodded, grabbing a glass. "Where did you and the others run off to? I wanted to watch some Doctor Who with you."

"We can do that right now!" Alfie grinned. "We were just studying; don't worry about it."

"Okay, but can you tell me next time, so I know where to find you if I need you?" she looked up at him sweetly and he immediately gave in with a nod, pecking her cheek.

* * *

Sibuna had dispersed. Alfie was with Willow, Patricia was trying to get Eddie's mind off the mystery with some pancakes, and KT went to her room to wait for a call from her grandfather. Joy and Fabian were the last of the group, seated on his bed as he typed on his laptop rapidly and she hummed next to him, shifting through his many papers.

"I miss our friendship, you know." He suddenly spoke up, and her brown eyes shot up to look at him. "I'm sorry for what I said before. It's just that you asked me out when I was still trying to understand that Nina wasn't coming back to school."

"No, it's alright; I shouldn't have done that, I know how much you love her." Joy said quietly. "It was insensitive of me to start that again after you and your ex just broke up."

"So, can we try to get our friendship back on track?" he asked hopefully.

Joy felt a pang of hurt strike her heart, but she shook it off and smiled, nodding silently. He would never want her, would he? It killed her knowing that he didn't want to be with her at all; that he would never think of her that way.

"Of course, Fabes," she choked.

He smiled at her and looked back down at his laptop, completely oblivious to her saddened state.

* * *

**Alright...what'd you think? **

**I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can, but as you can tell, these are long and they can take quite some time to write. But I'm working on chapter 5 right now! :)**

_**Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs. -Proverbs 10:12**_

**-Rachel**


	5. Chapter 5

**What's this? A second update? In the same day as the last?! Holy cheese, right? Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Rufus Zeno had ruined Jerome Clarke's chance at sleep. Jerome could no longer sleep soundly because of that psychopath. A simple noise in the room would cause him to jerk awake and look around the room in fright. But when he had woken up this time, his eyes had shot open, but he stayed lying down, facing the wall his bed was pressed up to. The creaking of bed springs stopped squeaking and the bedroom door opened and closed. Jerome looked over his shoulder at Alfie's bed and he his suspicions were confirmed. He'd snuck out.

Now, normally, Jerome wouldn't care if Sibuna was sneaking around, but their latest mystery involved Mara.

He stood up and ran a hand through his slightly ruffled hair. He left the room, spotting Alfie and the others in the foyer, huddled together, and whispering almost silently.

Eddie, of course, the leader of the gang, was the one to give orders to the other five. "Okay, KT, Alfie, and Joy, watch our backs while we go in and get the necklace. If Victor or Jerome comes, stop them. But I'm more worried about Jerry. We don't need him to know about us sneaking into Mara's room to steal her necklace."

Jerome's blue eyes grew wide as he hid in the shadows of the hallway.

The group tiptoed upstairs and Jerome followed them until he was hidden by the door that led to the girl's corridor. And just as Eddie had said, he, Fabian, and Patricia entered the room while the others stood outside, watching the entrance to the hallway. Shaking his head, he stood to his full height with a determined look on his pale face. He swiftly stepped into the hallway and stalked down to Mara's bedroom, barging right past the lookouts.

"What do you think you're doing, Sweety?" he snapped quietly.

Eddie froze from his place, beside Mara's bed, hand a few inches from her chest where the necklace laid.

"Alfie!" Patricia scolded softly.

"Jerry, we need the necklace."

"Get a different one, this isn't yours to take. Get out."

"Please, Jerome, we need it." Fabian pleaded.

"No—"

"Jerome if we don't get it, and she holds onto it, her life could be in danger." Patricia explained.

Jerome vaguely wondered how Mara was still asleep when four people were surrounding her bed, arguing over who should have the necklace that was looped around her neck.

"Who's the psychopath this time?" he asked in a monotone, crossing his arms over his chest.

The other three were silent and he smirked at their loss of words.

"Get out." He ordered once more, his smug smirk dropping to a serious frown.

They knew they had lost this argument. They trudged out of the room and Patricia lied down in her bed, glaring at Jerome, waiting for him to leave the room. He rolled his eyes and bent down, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, fingers brushing her cheek. A faint smile poked at the corners of her lips.

* * *

Mara sat at the dining room table and looked around. No one else was awake, and that gave her plenty of time to think. She didn't really need to be alone to think, but Jerome had once told her that she made "adorable facial expressions" when she's thinking hard. So she made sure she was alone when she was thinking hard.

What she was thinking so hard about was why Eddie, Fabian, and Patricia wanted her necklace. They must've thought she was asleep, but she hadn't been. She was still awake when Patricia snuck out of the room and when she had come back a few minutes later, she faked sleeping, for reasons she didn't know. Maybe it was the journalist inside of her that wanted a story, so she wanted to know why she'd come into the room with two boys at midnight on a school night.

Eddie had tried to take her necklace, but Jerome had stopped him. How Jerome knew that he was there, she didn't know. She didn't need his help, she could have stopped Eddie herself, but the fact that he was so protective of her and the necklace made her happy.

She snapped out of her thoughts when her friends entered the room in single file; Eddie, Fabian, Alfie, Joy, Patricia, and then KT. Mara smiled at them.

"How did you guys sleep?" she asked.

They all mumbled positive responses.

"I realized that I never showed you boys my necklace. What do you think? Isn't Jerome sweet for giving it to me?" she held it up and their eyes landed on the sparkling pendant.

The design of the golden rim was elaborate and had six, small, amber stones on each side of the turquoise stone. The whole appearance of the necklace was beautiful, ancient, and priceless. Wearing it made Mara feel special, but she wasn't thinking about that, she was more focused on how Eddie's eyes remained glued to it a little longer than they should have, before he looked away.

"Good morning, all," Jerome greeted, entering the room. All eyes were on him. Some of the gazes were angry, some were annoyance, and one was loving; that one being Mara's.

His hair was, as always, brushed and styled perfectly. His blue eyes lit up when they landed on Mara, just like they always did. His hair and his eyes complimented his pale skin. He wore his white school shirt, the first few buttons undone, and his dark gray cardigan hugged his figure, showing off just how thin he was. But his physique didn't change how attractive he was, in fact, it doubled his level of handsomeness.

He leaned down and pecked Mara's lips quickly, just as he did every morning, and rounded the corner of the kitchen to grab a green apple. He sat at his normal place between Mara and Joy and began serving himself some food, ignoring the glares of the people around the table.

He poured some orange juice for himself, and then silently asked Mara if she'd like some as well. She nodded and he distributed a glass for her.

"So, Jaffray, how would you like to join me for lunch today?" he smiled, a playful spark in his eyes.

"Well, let's see, lunch with Jerome, who obviously has something planned—"

"Obviously," he rolled his eyes.

"—or lunch in the history classroom, revising for a test. I'm sorry Jerome, but—"

"Oh, shut up," he laughed, bumping her shoulder with his.

She laughed with him. Normally, she would feel self-conscious about the eyes that were watching them, but she didn't care when she and Jerome were playfully flirting.

As they continued talking, the others fell into boring conversation as well; Joy, Fabian, and KT, Alfie and Willow, and Patricia and Eddie.

"They have such a playful relationship, don't they?" Patricia mumbled, momentarily glancing at her roommate and her boyfriend, who were laughing about something Jerome had said. "They really do have a lot in common."

"Yeah…wait, why are we talking about this?" Eddie asked. "You're not comparing our relationships are you?"

When she didn't answer, but kept her eyes on her plate, separating her raspberries and blueberries, one by one to either side of her plate, he knew that she was. She never organized her food, she just ate it. He had a feeling the raspberries, which had more in their pile, was meant to be Jerome and Mara's relationship, and the blueberries, their relationship.

"Patricia, stop comparing." He ordered. "We have the better relationship because we're in it, so it's obviously better than anyone else's."

The auburn-haired girl let out a breathy chuckle. Eddie's hand found hers under the table, and he entwined their fingers as they ate their breakfast.

* * *

"Jerome, what was last night about?" Mara asked as he laid out their picnic. They were seated outside, under a tree, and away from everyone else.

The blonde looked up with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What happened last night?"

"You, Eddie, Fabian, and Patricia were arguing in my room." She reminded him.

"Oh. That." He chuckled sheepishly, choosing not to deny it since she obviously knew it was true and she hadn't just dreamt it up.

"Why did they want the necklace?" she demanded, gripping the pendant in her hand.

"I don't know," he said truthfully. "But please, don't worry about it; I'll take care of everything. I can handle it."

"But, Jerome, it's ours, and they're trying to take it. Why do they want it so bad?"

"Mara, please, trust me. Everything will be fine and you'll be safe, trust—"

"Why would I be in danger?" she shrieked.

He let out a sigh, cupping each side of her neck in his pale hands. "Darling, trust me."

* * *

"Hi, grandpa," KT smiled into the phone. She sat on her bed and crossed her legs.

"KT, I've searched as far and as wide as I can. There's very little information on this Touchstone. The only things that I've learned are things that I'm sure you already know; legends that have never been proven to be true. But there is one thing that I thought of; a few years before I had discovered Tut's tomb, a William Clarke had found a tomb not far from that site; I had him on my expedition team. Now, unfortunately for the tomb, soon after he had found it, there was a sand storm, and they lost all trace of the tomb." Robert sighed deeply, papers ruffling with the breath. He hummed softly. "William had kept a journal, I know; one that he had never trusted with anyone. It's highly unlikely that he'd leave it somewhere or give it to someone. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."

"Actually, I think you did help. You said the man's name was William Clarke?" she asked, just for confirmation, which she received. "And how do you spell the last name?"

"C-L-A-R-K-E," he answered.

"Thank you, Grandpa, you helped us tremendously."

"Glad to be of service, dear; call if there is anything else you need."

"Will do, bye, Grandpa,"

"Goodbye, KT."

* * *

"Hey, Joy," KT grinned, taking a seat next to her roommate at her desk. "Can you do me a favor? Actually, can you help out since you are after all a Sibuna." She added in a whisper.

"Sure," Joy smiled, instantly ready to help in any way she could.

"I need you to look up Jerome's family tree."

"Jerome Clarkes?" Joy made a face.

"Yep, please?"

"Okay," Joy sighed and opened a new webpage on her laptop. She clicked on the saved link she had in her favorites and typed Jerome's name into the search bar. The start of his family tree came up and she typed in his father's name.

"What's his mum's name? I've never met her."

"I'll go get Alfie." KT told her, standing up, and Joy nodded, waiting a moment before Alfie was kneeling next to her staring at the laptop's screen.

"Joan, surname Hills, I think." he said.

Joy typed in the name and added Poppy as Jerome's sister. After the webpage processed the new information on the tree, several names appeared.

"There, William Clarke, click on Jerome's great-grandfather on his dad's side." KT pointed to the block.

Joy clicked on it and a short biography popped up.

"I was right; Jerome's great-grandfather had a journal that is probably packed with information about the Touchstone, because he was an Egyptologist that had discovered a tomb as well. But it was lost in a sandstorm."

"What's going on?" Eddie's voice sounded as he, Patricia, and Fabian came to stand in front of the desk.

KT explained what she, Joy, and Alfie had uncovered. Eddie's eyes nearly bulged out of his head at the new information.

"Jerry might have this journal?" he repeated. "Great, not only do we need to a steal a necklace from his girlfriend, but we need to steal a journal from _him._"

He ran a hand over his face in exhaustion and sat in his chair at the desk he shared with Fabian.

"Alfie, do you think you can get the journal for us?" he asked pleadingly.

Alfie immediately shook his head, face uncharacteristically serious. "There is no way, not even in a million years, or my life depended on it, that I'd snoop through Jerome's things. I don't want him losing trust in me. Because of Sibuna, our friendship is barely hanging by a thread. I'm not gonna risk it."

"I'll do it." Fabian volunteered.

"You sure, Fabes; it is snooping, you know." Joy spoke up.

"I think I can handle it," he defended himself. "I'll do it after school. Jerome and Mara always take a long walk before coming back to the house, right? It'd give me plenty of time to do my snooping." He said confidently.

* * *

Fabian shut the door behind him quietly. He turned to Jerome's side of the room and with slightly shaky hands, opened the top drawer of his nightstand. Shuffling through several notebooks cluttered with doodles and attempted history notes, and some short stories, he shook his head and closed the door. He went through several more drawers, checking his sock drawer, wardrobe, behind picture frames, under the bed, under the mattress, behind furniture, and even some of Alfie's things, but he never found anything.

His blue eyes landed on a box shoved in the corner. He hadn't checked it, and he was afraid to. It could be where Jerome and Alfie keep their pranks. Regardless of his suspicions, he crept over to it. When he opened the top, he didn't find pranks but several items, one of them being a brown, leather notebook.

Fabian sucked in a breath with a small smile and reached into the box.

"Fabian, what do you think you're doing?"

He jumped away from the box, falling on his back, and he looked up at Jerome and Mara's shocked faces. He got off the floor, brushing his uniform off, mouth opening and closing like a goldfish's. He couldn't believe he had been caught; they were supposed to be out on their walk. He was going to start hyperventilating if one of them didn't say something.

"Have the roles in the house been reversed?" Jerome mumbled, looking around the room in complete shock.

"Fabian, you're going through Jerome's things? How could you?" Mara asked; disappointment was clear in her brown eyes.

Jerome watched Fabian silently. Why had he been going through his things, of all people? It obviously had to do with Sibuna. Jerome thought they wanted the necklace, what did they want from his room? Was the thing they were looking for that could possibly belong to him? Something his father had given him, maybe? He'd have to check later.

"Mara, I was just—"

"Going through Jerome's things," she finished for him. "That is a complete invasion of his privacy. It's against house rules. I don't want to be a tattle, but I have to tell Victor. Fabian, I thought you were better than this."

She couldn't believe he'd do something like that. Maybe she wasn't as good at judging people as she thought. She thought he was a good guy, one that wouldn't snoop through people's things; but she obviously very wrong. At least he had the decency to look ashamed for his actions.

"Mara, please—" he pleaded.

"Just leave before I let Mara tell Victor about this little incident." Jerome spoke, raising a dark eyebrow at Fabian.

The brunette hurriedly left the room with a blush on his cheeks.

"What was that about?" Mara asked, still stunned by what Fabian had been doing.

Jerome scoffed. "I don't know, but I have a feeling it has to do with why they want they want the necklace. Why they want that as well, I still don't know."

Mara looked down at the necklace that hasn't left her neck since Jerome had given it to her.

"Jaffray, don't give it to them, okay? Trust me, I'll—"

"Take care of it, I know; but, J, I don't want you to be the only one worrying about this. I want to help figure this out." she told him.

Jerome took a deep breath and swiped his wallet off his desk. "Alright, we'll try to figure this out, together. But right now, let's not worry about that. Let's go get ourselves some chocolate ice cream."

Mara relented "Strawberry," she corrected, letting him take her hand and lead her out of the building.

"Chocolate,"

"Strawberry,"

"Chocolate,"

"Chocolate and strawberry," she compromised, grinning up at him.

"That's one beautiful mind you've got in that gorgeous little head of yours." He commented, poking her forehead.

Mara giggled.

* * *

**...review? :D **

**Okay, just like last chapter, the chapters tend to take a while to write. Now, the only reason this came so quickly was because it was already half finished, and it didn't take but an hour to write the last part. So, next chapter will come soon, but not too soon; I still have to finish the outline for the next chapter. :)**

**___Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?_**

_**"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.**_

_****__"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." -Luke 12:22-34_

_****_**That was a really long Bible verse... O_O**

**-Rachel**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, next chapter! :)  
**

* * *

"They caught you?" Eddie fumed.

"Yes," Fabian mumbled.

"So, you never found the journal, then." Patricia said knowingly, placing a soothing hand on Eddie's shoulder.

"Well, I think I saw one, but they walked in when I was about to grab it. I'll never forget the look of disappointment in Mara's eyes. I feel so horrible."

"It's okay, Fabes, we'll get it." Joy assured him.

"No, this is just getting annoying. I'm going against the rules of Sibuna—"

"Eddie—" Alfie cut him off but Eddie did the same to him.

"I'm the Osirian, I can do whatever I want." He snapped, standing up. He stormed into the kitchen where Mara and Jerome were laughing; eating the ice cream they had bought just a few minutes ago.

"Hey, Eddie," Mara smiled, scooping a bit of chocolate ice cream into her mouth.

"Give me your necklace." He demanded, and Mara gagged on her ice cream.

"Excuse me?" she said once she recovered from her coughing fit. "Eddie, I've already told everyone else that no one can borrow the necklace. I'm sorry."

"No, I want you to give me the necklace. I'm not being nice about it. I'm not asking. You're going to give me the necklace. I need it. If you don't give it to me, I'm just going to have to take it."

"Eddie, don't be so mean." Mara scolded and Eddie advanced a step toward her.

"Hey, back off, man." Jerome cut in. "Mara said you don't get the necklace, so demanding it isn't going to get you anywhere. You're acting like a little kid."

"Jerome, I need the necklace—"

"Why do you need it?" Jerome tested.

Eddie took a deep breath and delved into the reason, ignoring the protests of Sibuna behind him and the skeptical look Mara was giving him.

"So…you had a vision,"—Jerome held back a laugh—"and in the vision you saw the necklace. And you believe that the house"—he bit his bottom lip—"sent you that vision."

"Yep," Eddie nodded, completely oblivious to Jerome's disbelief.

Even after everything that Jerome had seen at this house, he found Eddie's story absurd.

"You do realize how insane that sounds right? Do you want me to call the hospital? I think you need to get your head checked out." Jerome added seriously, all trace of humor gone. He didn't like it when people played games with him, and Eddie was just being stupid with this whole story.

"Look, Jerry, I need that necklace right now. I don't care if you believe me or not."

"You're not allowed to have it. Unless you're using it to save the world, I suggest you leave us alone before I get a restraining order on you. You're freaking Mara out. I'm kinda freaked out as well."

"You never act like this," Mara stated, holding the pendant of the necklace in her clenched fist.

"Mara, please, I need the necklace," he pleaded, reaching out and gripping her shoulder. She jerked away from him and Jerome stepped in between the two.

"Don't touch my girlfriend." He said lowly, fire sparking in his blue eyes.

"Give me the necklace and I'll buzz off." Eddie said.

"No, it's not yours; screw off, Sweety." Jerome ordered.

Before anything could get out of hand, Mara gripped Jerome's arm and tugged him out of the room and into his. She pushed him to sit down on the bed after closing and locking the door behind them. She wrapped her arms around his neck and stood between his legs. He looked up at her and she smiled.

"Please don't start with him," she begged, fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his long neck.

"If he touches you again, I'm gonna punch him." He sighed, grabbing her hips. He tipped his head back and pursed his lips.

She giggled and leaned down, kissing him softly, and then pulled back so she could hug him briefly.

She stepped away and picked up the box that Fabian had been going through. She placed it on the bed beside Jerome and took out the leather journal.

"What is this?" she asked, flipping it open.

"I don't know, it was one of the things my dad gave me. All of the entries are sometime in the 30's, but none of them are signed."

"Did it belong to a family member? By the style of the handwriting, I'd say it was by a man. Maybe a great-grandfather or great-uncle?" she wondered.

Jerome shrugged.

"Well, let's read it shall we?" she suggested, sitting next to him.

He held up his hand to stop her from speaking. He pointed to the door where a shadow could be seen under the door. He took the journal from her and stuffed it into her purse and then handed her a random notebook from his drawer. It looked similar to the other notebook and he silently unlocked the door.

"Read it," he mouthed.

She nodded, and opened it to the first page. "'A step into the darkness of the forest and Peter knew he'd made a horrible mistake. He could hear the pounding hooves of the horses that carried his enemies. They were growing closer and closer. He couldn't turn back now. He shoved himself into the brush and pushed farther and farther into the unknown. The men on horseback snapped orders to their men and they scattered amongst the trees. Peter was doomed. He would be their next captive. Their next victim; to be beaten, torn, and brainwashed to believe their lies—'"

"That's what's in that journal?" Eddie scoffed, the bedroom door swinging open.

"Really, dude, eaves dropping?" Jerome shook his head in disappointment.

"But—"

"Come on, Mara; let's read somewhere else; somewhere we won't be interrupted so rudely." he handed her bag to her and slung his own over his shoulder.

And then they left.

* * *

"You told them everything." Patricia stated; arms crossed over her chest, glaring at her boyfriend. "You told Mara everything."

"I know, and I'm sorry. I just got ticked off. This is so hard. The house is making me feel desperate for the touchstone; I know it. I need to solve this mystery."

"Okay, Eddie, it's alright; you guys heard Jerome, you saw Mara's face; they don't believe you. They think you're just making this up." Fabian reminded them, just as his laptop let out a shrill _ping _sound. "Jasper replied."

Everyone briefly forgot the previous subject and averted all their attention to Fabian. His eyes flitted over the screen for a moment, excitement lighting up his face, but soon his excitement faded into disappointment. He looked up at his friends and shook his head solemnly.

"There is absolutely nothing about it in any records. He said that he's surprised I even found a picture of it."

"That only makes getting that journal even more important." KT realized.

* * *

"Alright, let's see what all the fuss is about with this journal." Jerome said, taking the notebook out of her bag and flipping to the first page. "'Today, I have made the most extraordinary discovery. A door to a tomb was uncovered several meters from our site. We have yet to open them and explore the tomb, but the inscription on the door is most curious. I still have some of the hieroglyphics to translate. The small piece that I've translated read, 'This is the dwelling place of the almighty Pharaoh Almenra; the powerful and most loved ruler of Egypt. He now rests in his rightful place, above the gods in heaven.'"

"I've never heard anything about that pharaoh." Mara pointed out.

"Maybe this isn't the journal they're looking for." Jerome shrugged, putting it down.

"What; of course it is. You just don't want to read it anymore." She said knowingly.

"It's boring."

Mara continued what he had started, "'A most interesting translation. The pharaoh the hieroglyphs speak of has never existed in the records of Egypt. It is possible that records on this Almena could have been destroyed. Also, 'he now rests in his rightful place, above the gods in heaven' could mean he had become a god after his death. His name might have changed, and we only know him as a god now.'"

"So the corpse of a god, who was once a very powerful ruler, is in that tomb."

"Yeah, let me skip ahead a little; the next few entries on describe the inside of the tomb. Um, 'The extraordinary tomb holds most amazing treasures. I have never seen such a tomb. It seems to have several anti-chambers, three treasure-chambers, and I'm sure many more before we find the burial-chamber.' Next entry, 'There was a sandstorm today, and I—"

"Mara," Jerome cut in, taking her hand in his. She looked up with curious eyes. "Let's not read anymore okay?"

"Jerome it may be boring to you, but it'll help us understand why the others want it so badly. I know that vision story isn't true."

"Mara, really, I don't want you getting mixed up in this—"

"Mixed up in what?" she demanded.

"Mixed up in everything; once you get in, you can't get out. I've tried so hard, and today I was sucked back in, and I brought you with me; and I shouldn't have. You could be in danger if you're involved in this."

"But you're involved in it, so you're in danger as well."

"You don't need to know why I'm in danger, you just need to know how you can stay safe; stay out of it."

"Think about this situation with our roles reversed. What if I was trying to keep you out of danger; wouldn't you want to know why I was shutting you out?"

Jerome winced; now he understood. "But, Mara, I don't want you getting in too deep."

"But I think I already am."

"No, not yet, and I'm not going to let this get any farther.

"No, listen, Jerome; 'there was a sandstorm today, and I and the team had barely enough time to get out of the tomb. We took shelter in our tents, and we suffered through that horrible sandstorm for three days. When the storm had passed, we couldn't tell where the tomb was; it had vanished. We tried to find it again, but the doors had been shut, locked, and buried under feet of sand. The only piece of proof of this tomb is the single artifact I had managed to grab. It had been looped around the neck of a statue of Isis; a necklace, a gold netlike rim and a turquoise stone placed in the center with six amber stones set on either side of the stone. It is most exquisite, and a great treasure that I will one day hand down to a trusted person; one that I know will protect with his life and find the lost tomb of Almenra."

* * *

"Class, due to an unfortunate accident with a hornets nest, Mrs. Howards won't be able to teach the class for the rest of the semester." Mr. Sweet announced. He motioned to the door and a man walked through to stand next to him. "This is Mr. Nathan Grant; he will be substituting for Mrs. Howards until she recovers. I'll leave you to it."

Once Mr. Sweet left, Nathan smiled, clasping his hands together. "How are all of you today?"

Each girl immediately gave a positive answer, staring at the handsome man before them. He was in his early twenties; he was tall and broad shoulder and wore black trousers and a blue dress shirt. He had brown hair that was style nicely and gray eyes that lit up under the lights of the art room. He leant against the desk behind him.

"Okay, the first assignment. I want you to draw, sketch, or paint something that's green. It can have other colors, of course, but I like the color green. I think it'll be interesting to see what all of you come up with, especially without copying anything. It should come from memory or imagination. Start."

And they began to paint.

* * *

Jerome dragged his longer fingers through his blonde hair. He stepped into the house with Mara behind him, and he skidded to a stop when Eddie popped up in front of him.

"Look, Jerry, I know that you don't like being a part of Sibuna or being involved in the mystery or anything Sibuna related after what happened with Rufus." Eddie said, holding his hands up, level with his shoulders as a sign of surrender. Jerome kept eye contact, and Eddie saw the fear that flashed across his eyes briefly. "I understand that he is your biggest fear—"

"You know nothing about me, Edison." Jerome snapped through gritted teeth.

"Alright, if not that, then a life without Mara—"

"No."

"Okay, what is your biggest fear?" Eddie sighed in annoyance.

"Losing the people I care about." Jerome answered easily, uncrossing his arms. "Anything Sibuna related is dangerous, that puts all of you in danger, as well as the rest of the house; the school; the world. And if giving you a necklace that solves yet another Sibuna mystery, that puts all of you in danger again; if I can prevent that, then I will. In the last three years, I've come this close—" he held his thumb and forefinger an inch apart, blue eyes filled with emotions his friends had never seen in them. "—to losing Patricia, Alfie, Nina, Joy, Fabian, Nina again, Amber, Willow, KT, you, my little sister—I am not risking that again."

The entire time Jerome was ranting, Mara looked between the two boys. Patricia, Alfie, KT, Joy, and Fabian stood off to the side, paying close attention to the argument, but they looked completely calm about it. Mara's head was spinning; she hadn't known this house was so dangerous. She was completely oblivious.

"Okay, let's make a deal, yeah? If Sibuna develops a new enemy that is also looking for the necklace, then you give it to us. If it stays with Mara, it'll put her in more danger than Sibuna is in. You can keep it until then; we won't try to take it. Let us look over the journal great-grandfather gave you, and you help us get more information on Mr. Grant." Eddie raised his dark eyebrows in question.

"What's wrong with Mr. Grant; besides the fact that he's taking my girlfriends attention?" he snuck a glance at Mara and she gave him an incredulous look back.

"Well, in art class today, I don't know if you noticed or not, but he was either being a creep checking out your girlfriend, or he was being a creep checking out your girlfriend's necklace. He could be our possible threat."

"Well, I need a reason to hate that teacher. Alright, I can get you some info on Grant, if you keep your side of the bargain and leave the necklace alone."

"Absolutely," Eddie nodded in confidence. He shook Jerome's outstretched hand. "Can we see the journal?"

Jerome dug through his bag and handed it to him.

"Thanks, Jerry; you won't regret this." He assured him.

"I wish I could believe you." The other blonde mumbled as he and Mara past him.

* * *

**Review? **

_**Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. -Ephesians 3:17-19**_

**-Rachel**


	7. Chapter 7

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Here's your information on Grant." Jerome slapped a yellow folder onto the coffee table, in the middle of the school's lounge.

"Thanks, Jerry," Eddie grinned, swiping it off the smooth surface and flipping it open. "Um…how did you get this?"

Jerome licked his thin lips and gave the American a closed mouth smile, clasping his hands behind his back and bouncing on his heels. "There're perks to having a father that was once in prison."

Eddie nodded his head in understanding and Jerome left the lounge.

"Okay, let's read up and figure out what we need to do; Nathan Thomas Grant, born January 4th, 1988; a Yale grad of law?" Eddie looked up in confusion. "Isn't he teaching our _art _class? What's he doing in art when he has a law degree?"

"Maybe he has a passion for art and his parents had forced him into law?" KT suggested.

"How did he become an art teacher if he was a law graduate though?" Fabian wondered. "Mr. Sweet wouldn't have hired him if he wasn't an art graduate."

"Unless he knew something about Egypt," Alfie pointed out.

"What if he lied on his resume?" Joy suggested.

"Yeah, maybe your dad didn't even know he wasn't an art major. He could've forged the resume he gave him. If he did that would explain it. And Sweety might not even be involved in this particular mystery." Patricia backed up her friend, for the sake of Eddie. He would've immediately defended his father anyway.

"Yeah, I guess." Eddie nodded.

"We should find out; I bet Mr. Sweet has the resume in his office." KT smiled.

"Yacker, feel like breaking into my dad's office with me tonight?" Eddie grinned.

Patricia's green eyes lit up with excitement. "That sounds like the perfect date." She teased.

* * *

"Hey, J; sorry, but I forgot to give this to you yesterday." Mara smiled sheepishly, holding Jerome's notebook out to him.

"Oh, thanks, Jaffray," he returned her smile and pushed the book into his locker before shutting it. When he looked back at her, she was closer than before and looked like she was about to explode with happiness. "What…?"

"I'm sorry; I'm practically fangirling, but…in the word of Willow Jenks: 'Squee!'." She giggled. She scratched her cheek. "That felt weird…"

"Okay," Jerome laughed. "Why are you fangirling and quoting Willow?"

"I couldn't help myself; I know you'll probably hate me for it, but your book is fantastic! I love it!"

"My book," he asked slowly and his blue eyes flitted to his locker, realization flashing in the glowing orbs.

"Do you hate me?" she asked worriedly as they walked down the hall to their next class.

"No, Mara, just…you really liked it?"

"Are you kidding me? You're an amazing writer, Jerome! I love your style."

"Well, thank you," he smiled slightly, holding the history classroom door open for her.

"So…um, please finish it!" she pleaded.

"What," he chuckled.

"Jerome, you haven't finished the ending. I still need to know what happens to Peter and Danielle. Does Peter save her? Do they live or die? Does Edward ever get what he deserves for everything he's done to those people? Are those people forever brainwashed? I mean, Jerome, these are some legitimate questions I'm laying out on the table here. They must be answered! Please finish it?" she begged, hugging his arm and looking up at him with her big brown eyes.

"Alright, fine; I'll work on it," he promised and sat down in his usual seat with Alfie at the back of the room.

Mara happily sat down in the front and turned her attention to the front.

* * *

Mara shut her locker and spun on her heel. She began walking down the hallway. She was walking home this particular day because the others had something to do that involved the journal. They had questions for Jerome, and she wouldn't be any help at all. She decided to walk back to the house and help Trudy with any chores. The students didn't have any homework; graduation was almost upon them.

As she rounded the corner to the doors that led outside, something crashed into her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mara," Mr. Grant laughed, steadying her.

"It's alright, sir," she assured him and bid him a farewell.

She didn't understand how someone as nice as him would want to be involved in a mystery the others spoke of. She couldn't imagine him putting others' lives in danger or lying and sneaking around.

Mara arrived at the house quickly and went up to her room to change out of her uniform. But she never got the chance to change. The minute her eyes landed on her figure in the mirror, she nearly screamed, and she looked down to her chest, just to make sure it wasn't her imagination. But no, it was really gone. Jerome's necklace was gone.

* * *

"So your dad never mentioned your great-grandfather being an Egyptologist?" Eddie asked.

Jerome rolled his eyes for the third time since stepping into the class room ten minutes ago. "No, he didn't. Edison, you asked me that five minute ago. Ask me something else; the answer to that question will continue to be the same."

"I'm just trying to make sure you aren't lying to us." The other blonde defended himself.

Jerome stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his trousers and looked out the window, down to the ground below. He could see Mara walking down the gravel pathway to the house and that put a smile on his face; just seeing her. And then his eyes flitted to the school's new art teacher.

"There goes Grant, shadily making his way into the woods." He pointed out.

Eddie peered down to the man Jerome was pointing at and he turned to Patricia and KT. "Feel like trailing someone?"

"On it," KT saluted and she and Patricia left the room.

"Okay…what about your grandfather? Did he ever say anything?"

Jerome tensed slightly. "No, he and his father didn't have a very good relationship, I think. He never talked about him."

"Like grandfather, like grandson, eh?" Eddie chuckled.

Jerome frowned at him.

"Sorry, it was supposed to be a joke," he defended himself.

* * *

Patricia peeked into the warehouse window.

Mr. Grant had trekked through the trees for a few minutes, the girls trailing after him at a safe distance. He had stopped at a warehouse in the middle of a clearing and he unlocked the door's padlock before stepping in.

What Patricia saw looked like the interior of a normal house trapped in the exterior of a beat up, stone warehouse. There was a bed with a nightstand, a table with two chairs, a sofa and a coffee table, and a small kitchen in the corner. It looked like a real house.

Grant immediately headed for the kitchen. He pulled the oven open, but instead of an oven, it was a safe. He twisted the dial and pulled the door open. He gently set something inside and Patricia's eyes grew wide when he pulled his hand away.

Before he could close the safe, or KT could say anything, Patricia picked up a rock and through it at the warehouse door.

"Patricia, what are you doing?" KT hissed urgently.

"Come on," the auburn haired girl grabbed the American's hand and pulled her away from the warehouse and into the brush. She pulled her into a crouched position when Grant stormed out of the warehouse.

He looked around warily, eyes observing every inch of the clearing. He ran a hand through his hair, and finally, he closed and warehouse door. When he was nowhere in sight and his footsteps could no longer be heard, KT stood up.

"Come on, he left the door unlocked."

"No, he knows we're here. He would have locked the door. He wants us to go in. We'll have to wait until he's preoccupied."

"Alright, let's head back to the school and we can keep an eye on him."

* * *

Mara pulled her yellow covers over her head and snuggled into the red jumper Jerome had given her over the holiday. It still smelled like him, even though she had washed it several times since first getting it.

She still couldn't believe she had lost the necklace. She had spent the entire day trying to find it. She searched the house and the school, and the path to the house, twice, but never found it. It had completely vanished. She had checked bathrooms and the lost & found, and even asked Mr. Sweet, but she never found it.

She was heartbroken. What would Jerome say? She couldn't stand the thought of him hating her, and she couldn't picture him acting that way either, but she could get the thought out of her head. He became really attached to that necklace, and she knew it meant a great deal to him. He had trusted it with her, and she had lost it. How could she have been so stupid? And she had an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach.

He was never going to trust her with anything again.

* * *

"Grant has the Touchstone." Patricia announced to the room.

She sat down next to Eddie and peeked over his shoulder at the notebook he was writing on, but it was just doodles. Obviously, Jerome hadn't been giving him much information.

"What?" everyone exclaimed, turning to her and KT in shock.

"Yep, I bet he swiped it off Mara. How, I don't know, but we do know that he has it." Patricia replied.

"I wonder if that's why Mara has been avoiding me today." Jerome murmured, running a hand through his blonde hair.

KT nodded. "I bet; I'm sure she's worried you'll be upset with her. But don't be, it could have happened to anyone."

"Oh, I know, I'm just surprised she felt like she couldn't tell me." he sighed, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "I'll see you guys later, I need to go check on Mara."

* * *

Jerome stood over Mara's huddled form that lay under the bright duvet. He gently pulled it back and raised his eyebrows at her. She looked up shyly and swallowed.

"Hey, there, beautiful, what are you doing hiding from me?" he smirked, brushing some of her black hair away from her face.

"I'm not," she denied quietly.

"I know about the necklace." He stated, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Jerome, I'm so sorry, I promise, I'll find it!" she sat up and bit her lip.

"It's alright, calm down. Look, you didn't lose it, Grant stole it; so don't worry, it's not going to make me hate you."

"Really," she whispered.

"Really," he confirmed. "You don't need to hide from me anymore."

"Okay, so are we going to try to get the necklace?" she smiled, scooting closer to him.

"Yes, we are, but you're not."

"What?"

"I don't want you to get hurt." He told her and left the room without another word.

* * *

Patricia and Eddie crept up to the door of Mr. Sweet's office, but froze when they heard him mumbling to himself on the other side.

"Shoot," Eddie growled. "We need to get him out of there."

Patricia grabbed his arm and pulled him into a nook down the hall and away from the door. "I'll distract him," she whispered.

Before he could say anything, she walked right up to Sweet's door and turned the knob. She burst in.

"Mr. Sweet, come quick!" she cried in fake desperation.

"Miss Williamson, shouldn't you be in bed right about now?" he scolded.

"Yes, but Victor is about to strangle Jerome and Alfie; they're going to slingshot Corbierre across campus!" she explained.

Mr. Sweet stood from his chair and patted his face with his purple handkerchief. He sped walked out of the office and down the hallway.

"I'm right behind you, sir," Patricia called after him.

She turned to Eddie as Mr. Sweet charged through the double doors that led outside.

"Nice," he chuckled.

"Looks like our date will have to take a rain check." She said sheepishly. She reached up and cupped the back of his neck, bringing his face down to hers so she could press her lips to his. "Now go get some juicy info on that creep, Cockroach."

"You got it, Yacker." He smirked after her as she hurried after Mr. Sweet.

Eddie entered the office and shut the door behind him. He immediately went toward the file cabinets in the corner of the room. He first searched the resumes, easily finding Grant's. He took a deep breath. He couldn't help himself; he needed to know for sure. He shuffled through all of the papers in search of something about the Touchstone, but he didn't find anything.

He decided to check the desk, just to be safe; but there were no papers about the necklace in the room, and for that Eddie was grateful. He didn't want his father to be his enemy again.

"Really, Mr. Sweet, I saw them," Patricia's voice protested loudly from outside the door.

Eddie perked up and swallowed. He grabbed the folder on Grant.

Mr. Sweet turned away from the door. "Miss Williamson…"

Eddie looked around. How was he supposed to get these papers out without his dad seeing them, and him?

"I swear, Mr. Sweet."

"Don't swear, Miss Williamson,"

"I'm sorry for bothering you, sir." She said hesitantly.

"Just get back to your house; I have work to do."

The door opened and Eddie hid behind it. He pushed the folder through the crack that appeared between the door and the frame. Patricia caught it before it could fall any farther and hurried down the hallway before Mr. Sweet saw anything.

"Hey, dad," Eddie greeted with a smile.

"Edison!" Mr. Sweet gasped; his hand instantly landed on his chest as his heart beat wildly.

"Sorry," he murmured. "I just wanted to talk to you."

"It couldn't have waited until tomorrow? It's past your curfew." He said as he sat at his desk.

"I know, but this is important. I know what I want to do after graduation."

Mr. Sweet looked up at is son in shock and then motioned for him to take a seat. Eddie did so and smiled.

"Well," he prompted.

"Oh right, well, I'd like to be an intern to an Egyptologist…." The blonde finished slowly.

"Really, I had no idea you had a passion for Egypt."

"Yeah, I love it…even more than Fabian." He joked.

Mr. Sweet's expression of thoughtfulness didn't change. "Okay, I'll see what I can do about that."

Eddie licked his lips. "Alright…um, thanks, dad."

"Go back to bed, Edison."

"I'm not five years old, but fine."

* * *

**Alright, review please? **

**I'll be spamming all of my Instagram followers with HOA pics this afternoon! So be ready! :) And if you don't follow me, do it (rachelisafallenangel)! And if you don't have an IG, make one and follow me! **

**If you ship Jara and post Jara pics or you're a fan account and post Jara pics with HOA, I might follow you back. I don't follow Jeroy accounts though. And you can understand why.  
**

**So has anyone seen Andy Biersack's new hair? Blonde? His natural hair color? Oh my gosh...he's GORGEOUS! I love him so much. **

**And have any of you watched Juliet Simms' acoustic cover of It's A Man's World on Primary Wave? Look it up on YouTube. She's absolutely incredible and beautiful... **

**Okay, anyway. **

**I'll update as soon as I can. **

_**The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down. -Proverbs 14:1**_

**-Rachel**


	8. Chapter 8

**Questions at the end... Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Mara paced in the dimly lit room. She had woken up a few hours earlier and couldn't fall back asleep. She couldn't forget the necklace. Her teacher had stolen it right off her neck. She hadn't felt anything or seen anything odd, yet it was gone and he had it.

She looked out the window, peaking at the school. She started when she saw Mr. Grant stepping into the woods. She quietly left the house and jogged to the spot on the border of the woods where he'd crept in. She really had no idea what she was doing as she made her way through the trees, but she did have a bad feeling. She pushed ahead though, and soon she found a warehouse, the door unlocked, and no sign of Grant.

After a quick survey of the clearing she was a few feet away from, she came up to the door and pulled it open, peeking in. She didn't see anyone at first, but she instantly felt guilty for even entering the building. It wasn't hers and she hadn't been invited. And the warehouse had a very uneasy feeling. Maybe it was because it was like all those horror movies she'd seen with Jerome. Or maybe it was because she was trespassing. Or maybe it was because of the shotgun that hung on the wall as a display.

Maybe Jerome was right, and she shouldn't be doing this kind of thing, but as she turned to leave her throat clenched and she halted in her tracks.

"Hello, Mara," the man greeted, his hand resting on the door's handle. He smiled slightly at her, but it wasn't a welcoming smile; it made Mara feel just as strange as the warehouse did.

"Mr. Grant," she stuttered, hands shaking by her sides. "Is this your house?"

"Yes, it is," he nodded.

"Oh, I'm sorry, how silly of me; I didn't know it belonged to anyone."

"What are you doing out so early in the morning, in the woods, alone?" he asked.

Mara gulped. "I couldn't sleep."

"You know it's dangerous for a young girl like you to be out alone. Didn't you tell your friends where you were?"

"I didn't want to wake them…" she replied, and instantly regretted her answer.

"They don't know you're here?"

"Well—"

"I'll see you later, Mara." He cut her off and left the building, shutting the door behind him.

"Wait, Mr. Grant!" she ran for the door but it was already locked.

* * *

"Good morning, class. Today, we'll be focusing on using purple and white, paint what you'd like." Grant smiled, sitting at his desk.

"Mr. Grant, have you seen Mara?" Willow asked sweetly.

Jerome barely looked up from his phone. He had been texting and calling his girlfriend all morning, but he never got an answer.

"Oh, yes, there was a family issue that she had to attend to. No need to worry."

"Oh, thank you," Willow mumbled.

She hopped up to her friends and everyone looked at each other with knowing looks.

"That's not like her." Patricia stated.

Jerome nodded, pocketing his phone, now knowing she wasn't going to respond. "She would have texted, called, left a note, or waken someone just to make sure we wouldn't be worried. And none of her family members are here in Liverpool. She'd have to fly to get where her family is."

"Her name wasn't checked out either. Mara always checks out so she doesn't get in trouble. Why did she forget?" Fabian spoke up.

"Something isn't right." KT swallowed.

"I have a really bad feeling," Jerome ground out, running a hand through his hair.

"Well, there's only one explanation, but we have three options to choose from." Eddie said. "She's trapped somewhere, she's lost, or she was kidnapped."

"And Grant," Jerome scowled.

"He lied on his resume. The information you gave us told us that he's not who he says he is. But then the medical records you gave us didn't give any information because you were missing two of the papers."

"Are you sure you didn't just misplace them?"

"No, we checked everywhere. The last two papers are gone; do you still have them? Is there something you don't want us to see?"

"No, I gave you everything that I thought I had. I counted the papers before I gave them to you, but…but then—"

"Then what," Alfie pushed.

"That guy bumped into me. I didn't recognize him but I remember feeling like something was off. I gave the papers to you after that."

"What, are we dealing with a master pickpocket now?" Joy scoffed.

"I don't know, but if we are, he completely swiped those papers off me; only two medical papers, in the middle of the folder. How did he do that without me noticing? That's insane! I wonder if he'd teach me how to do that."

"Dude,"

"I'm joking, Edison; I'm trying to lighten the mood."

"Stop trying to lighten the mood, Jerry, and think. What was the information on those medical papers?"

"I don't know I only counted them; I didn't want to read about another person's diseases."

"Well can you get them from your dad again?"

"I'm not going to ask that of him again; it was hard enough for him to get them the first time."

"What are all of you talking about?" Willow piped in.

Eddie jumped from beside her and his green eyes grew wide.

Jerome smirked. "We're playing a game; would you like to join?"

"Oh, please," she nodded enthusiastically.

"Alright, here's what you need to do. Go over to your canvas and paint, but watch Mr. Grant. Tell us if he does anything odd."

"We're playing secret agents?"

"Yep, it's a fun game isn't it?"

Willow grinned with a quick nod and skipped to her canvas, following Jerome's instructions.

"This could actually work to our advantage." Eddie commented.

* * *

Fabian scratched the back of his neck and flipped to the next page. His eyes scanned over the page and he stopped at the bottom. He smiled.

"Coordinates," he whispered to himself, looking up at the world map pinned on the wall. He traced a finger along the lines on the paper and finally landed on a spot in Egypt. He grabbed a map of Egypt off the shelf and spread it out on a desk. He found the spot on the map and his eyebrows were drawn together in thought.

"Find something, Fabes?"

Fabian nearly jumped out of his skin. He looked up at Joy. "Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry," she smiled sheepishly. "Did you find something?"

"Yeah, a spot in Egypt; according to the quick note right under the given coordinates in the journal, that's the spot that the tomb was found. The problem is that because of the sandstorm, William wasn't entirely sure of the coordinates. He hadn't written them down until after the sandstorm."

"We could ask KT to call her grandfather about it?" Joy suggested.

"That's what I was thinking." Fabian nodded.

He rolled up the map and put it back where he got it and then began to gather up his books. Joy picked up the journal and let her brown eyes skim over some of the pages as she waited for Fabian to finish stacking his things. Before he could pick them up, she placed the journal on top and took a few of the books. Fabian gave her a look but she ignored him and floated out of the room.

Fabian chuckled, hurrying after her.

* * *

Eddie looked up as Jerome sat next to him in the History class room. He raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Shouldn't you be sitting with your girl—best friend?" he corrected himself. He didn't want to start an argument; his life was stressful enough as it is.

Jerome replied with a question of his own. "Why do you think Grant would go into the woods in the middle of the day? He has his lunch in the teacher's lounge."

"I don't know, maybe he wanted to get away, or maybe—"

"He wanted to check on his place? I know it's probably not true, and I'm just jumping to conclusions, but I just wanna check. Maybe she went to get the necklace."

"No, I get what you're saying. Let's go check," the American stood and took a bite of his sandwich. "Patricia, KT, can you two show us where Grant's warehouse is?"

"Um, why," KT rose with Patricia and tossed the trash from her lunch in the trashcan nearest to her.

"Jerry suspects Mara might be trapped in Grant's warehouse."

"It's just a hunch. I'm following every lead I can find." Jerome defended himself as he and Eddie followed the girls out of the school and into the words.

They found the warehouse easily and hid quickly when Grant appeared, leaving the warehouse.

"_Mr. Grant, please let me out! I don't understand!_" Mara's voice echoed in the warehouse.

Jerome pressed his thin lips together. He wanted to punch that man's lights out for keeping Mara in that building with no real reason. When Grant disappeared into the woods, Jerome bolted to the warehouse door and gritted his teeth at the padlock.

He glanced at Patricia and pursed his lips at her. She furrowed her eyebrows at him and jerked back when he pulled something out of her auburn locks. He began to pick at the padlock with the bobbypin he had 'borrowed' and she glared at him, pushing the loose hair out of her eyes. There was a reason why she had those bangs held back; they annoyed her.

Jerome grinned as the lock clicked open and he pulled the door open. Mara looked up from the sofa in the corner and shot into a standing position, running to Jerome's side.

"We'll talk about this later." He said lowly in her ear.

"The necklace is in the safe that's hidden in the oven." Patricia informed him.

He nodded and grabbed an abandoned class on the counter. He played with the dial for a few seconds and when it unlocked, he ripped the door open. He swept the necklace off of the small shelf in the empty safe. He closed and locked the safe and shut the oven. He froze.

He bent down so he could see under the stove and he swallowed.

"What's wrong?" Eddie asked, leaving the girls in the door way to question Mara. He stood behind Jerome and watched him curiously.

Jerome replied by pulling out the pistol case that was slid under the stove. Eddie's eyes grew wide and he grabbed Jerome's arm, shoving the case back under the oven. He pulled him out of the warehouse and shut door, pushing the padlock until it clicked loudly, signaling that it had shifted into a locked position.

"What was under the oven?" Patricia asked quietly.

"Let's go," he said, gripping her hand and pulling her into the woods.

KT followed the couple and Jerome looked around with a gulp.

"What's wrong?" Mara wondered, hugging his arm as they walked away from the clearing. Her heart was pounding against her chest and her hands were shaking. She was sure she looked awful.

Jerome pocketed the necklace with a sigh. "That seemed almost too easy."

* * *

"Alfie, do you know what's wrong with Mr. Grant?" Willow questioned, tilting her head to the side in curiosity.

"What do you mean?" the dark-skinned boy turned his full attention to her at the mention of their art teacher. He shut off his Gameboy, completely forgetting to save his game, and he bit his bottom lip at the realization of what he'd just done. "No! I just got to a check point! I was gonna defeat Bowser!"

"Alfie," Willow giggled, pushing his shoulder playfully.

As he pouted, she continued, "Today Mr. Grant was looking all sweet and handsome and innocent at his desk when all of you were talking. He looked at me and smiled. He looked at the other students and smiled. But when he looked at you guys, he smiled for like, two seconds and his entire expression changed. He looked really angry at you guys, and it scared me. Mr. Grant doesn't look good when he's angry."

"Don't worry, Willow, I'm sure everything's fine." He smiled, but he was really just trying to reassure himself.

* * *

"Alright, KT, your grandpa won't be annoyed by another little problem will he?" Eddie asked, clasping his hands together as he leant on the counter in front of her.

"Probably not; what's up?"

"The coordinates; can he find out where that spot is?"

"Let me see," she smiled and dialed his number immediately after pulling her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans.

She greeted her grandfather when he picked up and she leapt into the topic she and Eddie had been speaking of. Eddie slid a piece of paper in front of her with the coordinates and she recited them to the receiver.

"That's a spot not too far from my site," he replied.

"Would it be too much trouble to check it out?" she asked worriedly.

"What about this, my dear: you and your friends help me." he suggested, a smile evident in his voice.

"Are you serious?" she laughed, excitement brightening her tanned face.

"What, what did he say?" Eddie whispered urgently.

"I'll pay for your tickets, just get permission from your guardians and let me know how many will be coming." He told her and a second later, he hung up.

KT grinned at Eddie who watched her expectantly. "You wanna go to Egypt?"

* * *

**Q #1: Would you like Nina and/or Amber to come back? **

**Q #2: If Nina/Amber did come back, what would you like to see happen with Jabian/Kabian/Fabina and Amfie/Walfie?**

**Q #3: What else would you like to see happen in this story?**

**Review?**

**Follow my IG: rachelisafallenangel**

**Okay...seriously, look up Andy Biersack with blonde hair - HOLY STINKING CHEESE! What a god... A sexy beast! **

**Anyway, wanna hear another _really _good song? _Lost It All_ by Black Veil Brides! That song is perfect! The first time I heard it, I burst into tears! It's so beautiful and amazing! If you like it, let me know! **

**I think I might recommend songs for y'all to listen to every once and a while...**

_**One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. -Psalm 27:4**_

**Stay funky, snakes! :)**

**-Rachel **


	9. Chapter 9

**This chapter sucks more than anything. I just needed to update. So this has no dialogue or anything. I'll update again as soon as I can and with a longer chapter. **

**This is a total filler and really has no point. I would have done a whole big graduation ceremony, but I don't know what goes down in those things...so enjoy?**

* * *

Graduation day; a day that may excite some and scare others. Each of the Anubis students felt differently about the day, and each were hoping, or dreading, something that was to come.

Eddie was in the front row with KT and Patricia seated on either side of him. He was smiling slightly, gripping Patricia's hand, partially in comfort for her, but also reassurance for himself. When he had first come to the school, he would've never known that he would graduate, but he was going to. He couldn't believe it, but he also wanted to get out of there. He wanted to go pack and get ready to fly out to Egypt. His father and mother had given him permission at the information that he was going to be an assistant to Robert.

KT was ecstatic. She had worked hard to make it this far, and she finally did. She couldn't wait to get up there and get her diploma. But she knew that Eddie was fidgeting beside her, not because he was nervous, but because he wanted to leave and get ready for their flight the next day. She wanted to as well.

Patricia brushed her thumb over Eddie's palm, in an attempt to comfort him. His right leg was bobbing and his green eyes kept flitting to the clock on the wall, anticipating the moment they can throw their hats into the air and know for sure that they'd finished school and they could move on with their lives.

Fabian was happy he had accomplished school; he'd worked hard, long nights to make sure he made it. He was going to apply for university and then fly out to Egypt to assist an Egyptologist; something he'd dreamed of doing one day.

Joy bit her lip. She didn't know that she would make it this far, and she could still barely believe it. She had done many things over the last few years, and she never thought that she'd be able to get to where she is now.

Mara sat in the front row. Normally, she would sit with Jerome, and on a day like this, she should, but he wanted to sit in the back and observe everyone, just like he always did. And she was the valedictorian. She had to give a speech. She would really rather sit back with her boyfriend to make sure he was okay and would be able to handle the occasion, but she also had a job to do for the school.

Willow giggled quietly. She never would have guessed when she first started school that she would move into Anubis House and eventually start dating Alfie Lewis. She had a good life.

Alfie smiled at Willow and turned his attention to the stage briefly before looking at Jerome across the aisle. He was happy he was finally getting out of school, but he was wondering what was running through his best mate's head at that very moment.

Jerome was probably the quietest he had ever been. He sat back in the folding chair, and instead of watching the other students like he knew his friends thought he'd do, he was keeping an eye on Mara. He had wanted to sit with her, but a few days before graduation, and she had been kidnapped by one of their teachers. But in the back of his mind, something that he was pushing away was the nervousness and fright that he was feeling. He was graduating. He was leaving. This place was his home; he'd spent half his life here. It was going to be hard to leave. All his life he had awaited the day he'd leave the horrible place he had called home for most of his life, but now, he didn't want to leave anymore.

* * *

**Yeah, Jerome's was the longest, I know, and the reason for that is because I feel that if the writers hadn't screwed up the show and made Jerome act like a jerk (or something else that I won't say), he'd be the deepest character on the show. I always make him the deepest person because his past is so different from everyone else's. He's been through the most...**

**Anyway, review? **

_**Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. -James 1:2-4**_

**-Rachel**


	10. Chapter 10

**Yay! Update! Sorry it took so long! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Mara lifted her carry-on bag and attempted to push it into the compartment over the seats. She stood on her toes, trying to push it in. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw man walking toward her, to offer her help, but when he was a foot away, her bag was pushed into the compartment and a hand gripped her shoulder gently.

Mara turned to the man and smiled before sliding into her seat, Jerome following after he put his bag in as well. The man raised his eyebrows at them before he went off to assist another passenger.

The two were silent as they awaited the flight to begin. Once they were in the air and everyone was relaxed, Jerome sighed. He licked his thin lips and spoke to her for the first time since he had rescued her from the warehouse, "why did you do it, after I specifically told you not to?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered, fiddling her thumbs in her lap. "I just…"

"You just what, Mara?"

"I just thought that…that if I could get the necklace back without your help…I could prove to you that I could—that I can—take care of myself. But I was wrong. I got caught. And I made you mad at me."

"Mara, that's not why I'm mad; it's because you—" he stopped when his voice cracked and he closed his eyes tightly. He took her hand and stood up, pulling her down the aisle with him. He tugged her into the small bathroom of the plane and locked the door.

Mara looked up at him in shocked, but waited for him to continue.

"The reason I'm mad is because I let you go. I told you not to go, and I thought you wouldn't, but I knew deep down that you'd go anyway. I knew that and I didn't do anything about it; I just let it happen. I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at myself. You could have gotten hurt, or worse, and I—" he ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the wall. "—I wouldn't forgive myself. You know how much it hurts me when someone leaves me. If you left and I could have prevented it—"

"I'm sorry," she cut his rant off, wrapping her arms around his neck and let him sink into her embrace.

* * *

The gang climbed out of the small bus that had driven them to the middle of nowhere, where KT's great-grandfather's dig site was located. The camp was filled with many tents and tables; near the entrance of the camp stood Robert Frobisher-Smythe and Harriet Denby. KT was the first of the group to make it to the pair, wrapping her arms around the frail man. Everyone exchanged hugs, handshakes and hellos before they were shown to their tents.

"The boys' tent is here, and across from it will be the girls' tent." Harriet told them, motioning to the two tents in the middle of the camp, a perfect distance between Robert's research tent, the water trailer and the jeeps that were used for emergencies.

Jerome wrapped his arm around Mara's waist and grumbled into her ear, "We have to go through this again? Why can't we have our own tents? You know, Eddie, Fabian and Alfie; Patricia, Joy, KT and Willow; and then you and I."

Mara slapped his chest in a scolding manner but didn't say anything.

Robert spoke, "Why don't all of you get settled, come to my tent for tea, and then we'll discuss how this entire operation works. We won't begin our hunting until tomorrow and a good night's rest."

The teens followed his instructions and the boys and girls parted ways.

* * *

"Well," Jerome sighed, laying back in his cot with his hands clasped behind his head and ankles crossed over the other. "At least we don't have to worry about Grant; he's back at school."

"Yeah, but why did he have that gun?" Eddie wondered.

"Gun? What gun? He had a gun?" Alfie asked urgently.

"Don't worry about it, Alf; he can't do any harm to us when he's there and we're here." Jerome reassured his friend.

"And maybe it was just for self-defense." Fabian suggested, even though he had only just learned that their teacher had kept a gun hidden on school property. "After all, he was living in a warehouse in the middle of the woods. Maybe he was paranoid."

The boys let the topic drop and a comfortable silence lapsed over them before Alfie broke it, "Am I the only one that's really missing Trudy's cooking right now?"

"Am I the only one that's missing Trudy more than Trudy's cooking?" Jerome asked sadly.

"No," Fabian and Eddie said together, answering both questions at once.

* * *

"I've got a bad feeling," Patricia stated. "Like, something really bad is gonna happen while we're here."

"I hope nothing happens," Willow said fearfully, her bright green eyes wide with worry. "I don't want this trip to be ruined. It's so exciting."

Joy nodded. "I don't want anything to happen either. Fabian is so excited to be working with Robert and KT's so happy to be here with her grandfather, and this is a great opportunity for us to get some college credits. Don't you agree, Mara?"

"Yeah, I think the experience of working with an archeologist and trying to find a lost tomb will definitely look good on college applications. Even though I already sent mine in and I'll be starting at Cambridge in the fall."

The others laughed.

"I've already gotten accepted as well," KT announced, "But it might help with what I'm studying. I wanna be an archeologist like my grandpa."

"Fabian wants to be an Egyptologist, maybe you two could work together someday." Patricia teased and the girls giggled.

Joy turned her back on them and shook her head. Sometimes she wondered if she and Fabian could, or would, ever be together. With all these girls constantly popping up that have so much in common with him, it made her wonder if they were even meant to be like she had always hoped.

She felt someone touch her arm in a comforting way. She looked at Mara with a small smile of fake reassurance, and the raven-haired girl gave her a knowing glance. "Opposites attract, you know."

* * *

After tea, the teens sat around Robert's tent as he explained what each of them would be doing on the site. Fabian, KT and Mara were assigned to help with research on the tomb. Patricia, Eddie and Joy were instructed to help out in the site, while Jerome, Alfie and Willow were given the job of inventory.

And the next morning, the first person to wake was Fabian, all ready to begin his dream job. KT and Mara soon followed, and one by one the others got to work after they spent most of the early morning trying to open their tired eyes.

* * *

Jerome sat next to Willow and looked over at her with his sparkling eyes. "Willow, I need your help."

"Of course," she smiled happily, looking up from the inventory book.

"Well, I need a present for Mara; a necklace maybe…any suggestions?"

"Well, Mr. Frobisher is letting Alfie and I go to town for a few more notebooks and anything else the site might need. You could ask him if you could come with us." She replied. "You could look for a necklace while Alfie and I get the supplies."

"That'd be perfect, thank you, Willow." He grinned thankfully.

* * *

"Jerome is okay with us going through this journal, right? When he gave it to you guys he didn't seem to like it."

"He's letting us, Mara, don't worry." Fabian assured her. "I don't really like it either, but we need some information on this tomb, and this journal is where that information is kept."

Mara nodded in understanding.

* * *

Eddie had drunk as much water as everyone else. He hadn't felt light-headed or anything. He hadn't spent too much time in the sun. But suddenly his head started to throb and a light flashed before his green eyes, and he found himself falling into a vision; a day-mare, something that he hated getting, but got every other day.

He watched patiently though, knowing he would, most likely find a clue, but he couldn't wait for it to be over. They scared him.

_He and Patricia looked at each other in complete confusion. He reached forward hesitantly and pulled the on the handle, the door opening with it. A horrible stench flowed from the hole in the sand and Patricia gagged in disgust. _

"_Come on," he whispered and began descending the small, narrow staircase to the first of the tomb's many chambers. _

_The room was stone, the floors, the walls, but there was nothing in the room but a few empty, clay pots, telling Eddie that someone had obviously already been in the tomb and taken some of the treasures from the first chamber. _

_Eddie felt a chill slither up his spine as he looked around the small room. Something was off; he could feel it in his bones. Before he could react, the entrance to the tomb slammed shut and the sound of the lock clicked. He hurried to the top and pushed on the doors, but they wouldn't budge, and no one came to open them when he banged on the wood. He looked down at Patricia with a knowing look._

_They were trapped._

Eddie shook his head. It seemed that they did eventually find the tomb, but he and Patricia were going to get trapped, but he didn't know what would happen after that. He decided nothing would come after that, because he wouldn't let them get trapped.

* * *

Alfie finished packing the last water bottles on the jeep and looked around the camp, waiting for Jerome and Willow to arrive so they could go back into town for the supplies they needed. His brown eyes widened, spotting an oddly familiar face on the other side of the camp. He pushed off the side of the jeep and ran to hide behind a tent, keeping a careful I on the man near Robert's tent.

"Grant?" he whispered in absolute shock.

What was he doing here? He was supposed to be in England, teaching new students at school. But…he was here, at the dig site, with a camera, sneaking around Robert's research tent. Why?

Working up the courage to confront the man that he knew had once stashed a gun in a warehouse back in England; he marched up to him with his head held high. He tapped his soldier and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Mr. Grant, what are you doing here?" he asked innocently.

"I beg your pardon?" the man replied, confusion lacing his deep voice.

"Why are you here in Egypt? Aren't you supposed to be back in England, teaching an art class?"

"I'm sorry; you must have me confused with somebody else; my name's Nicholas Gibson."

* * *

The rest of the afternoon, Alfie hadn't stopped thinking about the Grant look-a-like. The man was constantly on his mind. He followed Willow around the few supply stores in the town without a single complaint, and helped her when she needed it, but he really didn't do anything.

Jerome had searched high and low throughout the stores, and before he knew it, he had gone through each of the jewelry and souvenir shops, but hadn't found a single necklace that would suit Mara or that was one of a kind, which was what he wanted. Stores wouldn't have anything one of a kind. He'd have to speak to some of the people in camp for help on that subject. He couldn't let Mara down; she needed a new necklace. The last necklace had shown her that he loved and trusted her; he wanted to do that again, and make sure she knew what he felt for her.

* * *

"He said he's a reporter doing a story on Frobisher; his name is Gibson; and he's never heard of any of us in his life? Sounds fishy if you ask me," Eddie mumbled, running a hand through his blonde hair.

Sibuna was gathered in a circle on the side of the boys' tent, sipping from water bottles, the night sky dark and beautiful above them; without any extra light, the stars could be seen clearly. Alfie had just finished explaining what had happened with the Grant look-a-like that afternoon.

"I think we should check him out." Patricia stated, tightening and untightening her bottle's cap over and over again, which caused Jerome's glowing blue eyes to flit to the bottle every few seconds, annoyance radiating off him in waves.

There was one downside to being in the middle of nowhere, though everything was so beautiful, you noticed everything, especially the little things, which were quite annoying.

"Right, Jerome…and Joy, you two are good at manipulating people." He smiled and the two glared at each other. "Why don't you two interrogate Grant?"

"But—"

"I'm not letting you protest, Jerry. Just do it, alright? We're all tired, let's not start a fight that'll keep everyone up longer than needed." He cut him off. "Now, let's get to sleep. I have a feeling we'll find the tomb soon."

* * *

**Review?**

**Alright, a very decent, long chapter. :) Gotta love 'em yeah? I'll update the next chance I'll get! I'm gonna be working on another oneshot for HOA Oneshot Day; and I'm also working on an update for HOC and Anubis Reunion! :D**

_**Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. -Matthew 6:1**_

**-Rachel**


	11. Chapter 11

**What's this? I'm...updating!? Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Eddie scratched the back of his neck and looked around. He squinted up at the pyramid, and back at the camp sight, and then to the small town in the distance. But to him, it didn't seem like the tomb was anywhere near there; according to his vision. He looked down and kicked the sand with his boot. The sun had only risen an hour ago, but the desert was already hot.

He untwisted the cap of his water bottle and took a brief swig. The cool liquid ran down his throat and he sighed. The closed his eyes and thought long and hard about what he was trying to find. From what he had seen in his vision, the tomb's opening had been a few feet beneath the sand, but where…

* * *

Jerome stalked a few feet ahead of Joy while she glared at the back of his head.

"You know, if we're gonna be working together, we might as well try to get along." She pointed out.

Jerome stopped, and Joy had to skid to a halt to keep from running into his back. He turned to her and leaned down so their faces were level as he spoke to her, as if she was a five year old, "You and I both know that we are not compatible as friends or anything more or less, so please don't suggest that we try to get along. Remember what happened that year when you first came to school. I asked you why you were gawking at Fabian –I mean I was trying to be nice— and you exploded in my face for even pointing it out. Is it my fault that I'm a naturally observant person?" he sneered.

Joy blinked. "Your girlfriend is also one of my best friends."

"I don't care if you're Alfie's girlfriend—or my dad's girlfriend, Killjoy; you and I just don't fit. And you know it, too. Why are you trying to attempt a friendship with me?"

She was silent for a moment before she huffed. "No reason."

He watched her for a second, his blue eyes studying her face, before he whipped back around and started on his way again in search for Nicholas Gibson, or so he claimed was his name.

Spotting him near the corner of a tent, playing with the lens of his expensive camera, Jerome stepped right up to him. "Hi," he nodded in acknowledgement, choosing not to beat around the bush. If he did, he'd be spending more time with Joy, which he didn't want to do.

"Hello," Gibson greeted, gray eyes flitting between the two.

"I'm Joy, and this is Jerome, we're guests of Mr. Frobisher. We're here to help with the dig." She introduced them and shook his hand.

He smiled. "I'm Nicholas Gibson; it's a pleasure. Are you having fun so far?"

"Oh yes, the dry eat and the bugs and the blistering sun hanging over your head all day long definitely makes the experience more enjoyable." Jerome forced a smile and bounced on his heals once, his eyes scanning Gibson's.

The man's welcoming expression slowly lessened as he stared at Jerome warily. "Well, shouldn't you be getting back to work?"

"Nah, it's our break," Jerome explained. "We were walking around and I noticed that you're a photographer?"

"And reporter; just doing a story on Frobisher continuing his adventures after spending such a long time on bedridden. It's amazing he's lived this long."

"Yes, well, some may have more luck than others. And some fight their way to the top; no matter what it costs. Although, they don't always make it."

"So anyway," Joy cut in. "How's the story coming along, Mr. Gibson?"

"Very well, thank you," he replied, and before he could continue, Jerome spoke again.

"What have you gathered so far?"

"Nothing that'll interest you, I'm sure." He responded and Jerome frowned.

He hated it when people thought that he wouldn't enjoy something when he found a few things about Egyptian history quite fascinating.

"No, we'd love to hear what you've found about everything so far. See, my girlfriend has this thing for journalism and being around her so often, I really enjoy anything related to a newspaper."

"Then you'll just have to wait until it's printed." Gibson snipped. He tipped his head. "I must be off; have a good day."

"You, too," Joy smiled politely.

Once he was out of sight, she slapped Jerome on the arm and his head snapped around to glare at her incredulously. "What was that for?"

"Why did you have to be rude? And why wouldn't you let me talk?" she demanded.

"First, you could have jumped in whenever you wanted to. Second, did you see his face? He's not really here for an article if he can't share anything. He could have at least told us a little about the story. He's not really Nicholas Gibson. He's got to be Grant. But I'm not jumping to conclusions. I'm simply stating that he doesn't seem to know what he's doing, except when it comes to snooping around the camp. I'm gonna get back to my work and tell Eddie about this later. You go do whatever." He mumbled as he waved her off, walking away.

Joy rolled her brown eyes and took a deep breath. Turning to the direction Gibson had gone, she began to follow in his footsteps; her mind wondered as she considered what Jerome had said.

* * *

"Jerome," Fabian called, jogging up to him.

The blonde turned to him and arched a dark eyebrow in acknowledgement.

"Have you seen Joy?"

Jerome's eyebrows furrowed and he looked back behind him. "She was right behind me. Where is she now? Beats me," he shrugged. "Why?"

"No reason, I just had a question for her." he mumbled and scurried off to find his friend, leaving Jerome watching after him, amused.

* * *

"Eddie, what are you doing out here?" Patricia asked after she had trekked several feet away from camp to get to her boyfriend as he stared at the sand.

He looked up at her. "I had another vision, and you and I went into the tomb."

"Where is it?"

"I don't know. In my vision, it was dark, but I know it's here somewhere. I talked to Frobisher, and he told me that the coordinates that we gave him land maybe tens of feet away on the west side of camp." He explained.

"Why am I dating an idiot?" she asked, looking around.

"What are you talking about? You're not dating an idiot." He defended himself.

"Are you sure about that? Because west is that way," she pointed behind him. "This is the east side of camp."

Eddie blinked. The sun suddenly seemed a lot hotter. "Are you serious?"

Patricia pressed her lips together tightly as she nodded slowly.

Eddie breathed out slowly. "Well, let's go look on the west side of camp. Maybe we'll have better luck there."

"Yeah…" she mumbled, watching him with an obvious look.

"I mean, I've got to refill my water bottle anyway."

"Yeah…"

"Oh, shut up," he groaned, which earned a laugh from his girlfriend.

* * *

"William Clarke was a very interesting person." Mara commented, flipping through the pages of the journal. "'Tut's tomb was beyond imagination; an extraordinary experience to witness such beauty. Only few eyes gazed upon the golden walls of the burial chamber, and I am proud to be amongst the observers. Magnificence screamed from the room; Tut was an important man. But there are so many things unknown about ancient Egypt. The country and its history have always fascinated me. I have dedicated my life's work to learning as much as it is possible and share it with the world.'"

"Yeah, has Jerome ever talked about him?" KT asked, looking up from the book she held as she tried to decipher some hieroglyphs from the journal.

"No, but he speaks very fondly of his grandfather, Matthew." Mara replied. "But he didn't take any interest in Egypt. He became a business man. According to Jerome, he and his father didn't have a very good relationship, and when William tried to convince him to carry on with the work in Egypt, he refused." Mara explained. "Maybe that's why William had said that he'd pass the necklace onto someone that would give everything he had to find the lost tomb. He must have known that Matthew wouldn't mention his father to Jerome. He must have known that John wouldn't take an interest either. Jerome didn't learn anything about his great-grandfather that would make him hate Egypt. Jerome finds it quite interesting; he just doesn't want to pursue a career in it."

"Good afternoon, girls," Robert greeted, stepping into the tent. "How's the research coming along?"

"Fine Mr. Frobisher," Mara smiled. "But Fabian hasn't shown up yet."

"That's odd," the old man remarked.

"Yeah, it is; Fabian would never abandon work, especially when it's as important as this." KT said. "I mean, I'm no expert on this hieroglyph translation thing. Fabian is much better at it."

"Well, I'm sure he'll turn up. You're both doing a fine job." Robert complimented.

* * *

"Oh, hi, Joy," Alfie grinned, jumping up next to her. She jumped, turning to glare at him half-heartedly.

"Alfie, don't scare me like that."

"Sorry, what are you doing hiding behind a bunch of crates?" he wondered.

She put a finger to her lips to silence him and pointed around the crates. He peeked over to Grant who stood outside the artifacts tent. He lifted his camera to his face and twisted the lens to zoom out.

"Why are you watching him? I thought you and Jerome were supposed to interrogate him?" he whispered, crouching down with her.

"We already did and Jerome said he got information, but I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. So I thought I'd follow him around for a few minutes and see if he does anything suspicious, but so far he's been walking around taking pictures of the tents."

"Well, maybe he's—Joy, look."

She peered over the crates just in time to watch him slyly slip into the artifacts tent. "He's not allowed to be in there."

"I know."

* * *

Willow pulled her long, strawberry-blonde hair into a high ponytail. Once she was positive it was secure, she continued to skipping towards the water tank. She uncapped her water bottle and held the opening under the faucet. Once the bottle was full, she stopped the water and took a brief drink.

She scratched her eyebrow, turning around, but she blinked and shielded her eyes when something glared at her harshly. The sun was reflecting off something. She carefully opened her green eyes and looked around. She was on the edge of the west side of camp. She noticed the glimmer of the sun in the sand and followed the shine. Brushing the sand away, she gasped quietly, pulling a small gemstone out of the grit.

Turning it over in her hands, she gazed upon the stone in awe. "So pretty," she murmured, stroking the front of the dark red jewel.

She looked back up at the camp and happily made her way back to the middle of the site. She entered Robert's research tent hesitantly and he looked up at her with a kind smile.

"Yes, Willow, how can I help you?"

"Well, Mr. Frobisher, I found this crystal. I thought you'd like to have it for the artifacts?" she held it out to him and he took it from her hand.

He placed it under a microscope and observed the stone through the multiple lenses. "This is a very nice gem, Willow." He said with a smile, turning back to her. He held it out and placed it back in her hand. "You can keep it. Your first artifact is always an achievement. Congratulations."

"Oh, thank you, sir," she squealed.

"You're very welcome. See, that particular stone was used by the Egyptians as protection from all things evil. Somewhat like the Eye of Horus." He enlightened and she listened with interest, but then he looked up at her with slight confusion and curiosity. "Where did you find this exactly?"

"Out on the west side of camp; near the water tanks." She replied and he nodded.

"Thank you for coming to me with that Willow. Why don't you go show your friends?"

She nodded excitedly. "Oh, yes, of course; goodbye, Mr. Frobisher."

Once she left the tent, she took a deep breath, looking down at the stone. "Perfect," she whispered.

* * *

Alfie shook his head slowly. "I can't believe no one noticed him walking in there."

"He was really discrete about it." Joy shrugged. "Maybe we should go call him out."

"Or maybe we should let him do it. We'll keep watching him." he mumbled. "Here he comes."

Grant looked up and down the rows of tents once he exited. He then proceeded to walk down towards another tent; the tent of archives where KT and Mara were doing their work. Joy and Alfie carefully hid behind another tent, noting his every move. He turned his head slightly, his eyes glowing with detection as he played with his camera again. A small smile appeared on his face and he stepped away from the entrance, rounding the corner, just as KT and Mara left the tent.

Alfie gritted his teeth as they strolled away, out of sight, and Grant entered the tent, leaving his camera on a barrel to the side of the tent. Joy straightened.

"I'm going to go look at his camera and see if he has any pictures that are valuable to us." She whispered and quietly walked over to the camera before Alfie could protest.

His brown eyes flitted between her and the tent's entrance before they settled on the entrance, watching for Grant.

Joy silently flipped through the pictures the camera held. She looked up at Alfie when he tossed a pebble at her shin. She shot him a hurt expression, rubbing the spot, but he shook his head frantically, pointing toward the tent. She bit her lip, understanding immediately. Hurriedly, she flipped the camera over and pulled out the SD card. Alfie nearly fainted as Grant grabbed the camera off the barrel, a second after Joy managed to hide behind the tent.

* * *

"Fabian!" Patricia hollered, waving at him.

He looked over at her and ran up next to Eddie. "What? Have you guys seen Joy? I need to ask her something."

"No, I haven't seen her today," she shook her head. "But Eddie thinks this is where the tomb is. He had a vision yesterday, and from what he remembers, this is where it is; a couple feet beneath the sand."

"Really?" he asked excitedly, turning to the American. "Are you positive?"

"Not entirely, but I've got a pretty good hunch that it is." he shrugged, wiping some sweat from his forehead.

"Let's go tell Mr. Frobisher," Fabian suggested.

And before they could head back to camp, Frobisher was already making his way toward them. He laid a hand on Eddie's shoulder and smiled. "Willow told me she found a gemstone around this spot here. Maybe the entrance isn't too far."

* * *

Jerome ran a hand through his hair and wrote down another entry to the log he had in his lap. He leaned back in his chair and pointed the eraser of the pencil at the pots on the shelf, counting each one. Jotting down the total, he grinned when he felt familiar lips press against his cheek.

"Hey," he looked up at his girlfriend, swiveling his chair around to face her.

She bit her lip, holding back a grin and leaned back on the desk next to his. "Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing, just doing my job." He replied and waved to KT who came to stand beside Mara. "Hey, KT,"

She smiled. "Have you seen Fabian today?"

"Yeah, earlier, he's been running around looking for Joy." He responded, closing the log and clasping his hands loosely behind his head.

"Where's Joy?" Mara asked.

"I don't know, she wondered off after she and I talked with Grant."

"So it is Grant?" KT speculated.

"Well, that's where I'm a little confused. It could be Grant, or he could be Gibson. Maybe he's both. There's such a thing as look-a-likes. I've never seen any look so much alike but it's possible. But he just seemed really closed off, like he wasn't expecting anyone to ask him so many questions. It also seemed like he wasn't entirely sure what he's supposed to do, or how he should react to some things. He acted a little suspicious here and there, but I'm not sure. It was kinda hard to read him by the way he react toward so many things." He shrugged.

"Jerome Clarke can't read someone?" Mara gasped in shock and he sent her a playful glare.

"Shut up, Jaffray."

She giggled.

"What about Eddie?" KT spoke again after a moment of thought.

"He left pretty early this morning. I haven't seen him since though."

"And Patricia might be with him." Mara added.

"She's disappeared too?" Jerome let out a grunt; maybe a chuckle.

"And Alfie; I haven't seen him either." KT commented.

"Yeah, same here," the blonde nodded in agreement. "But he's probably just wondering around; it's who he is. He finds this place pretty interesting."

"Jerome—oh hi, Mara, KT," Willow smiled brightly, entering the tent.

"Willow, you're not missing!" Mara laughed, reaching out to hug her friend, and Willow happily returned her embrace.

"Am I supposed to be?" she asked in confusion.

Mara grinned and shook her head. "No, we've just been wondering where the others could have gone. We haven't seen them today."

"Well, I just spoke with Mr. Frobisher, so he isn't missing either." She stated. "But I haven't seen Alfie, and I wanted to make sure he's been drinking enough water."

"I'm sure he is." Mara assured her, and then looked back at Jerome. "You're drinking enough water, right?"

"Of course, darling," he promised, grabbing his water bottle off his desk and taking a sip to reassure her.

"Why don't we go look for the others?" KT suggested, pushing off the table behind her and Mara nodded.

"Alright," Jerome stood and took Mara's hand as they left the tent, following KT and Willow.

On their way around a tent, a man skidded to a stop before them. "I'm sorry," Gibson murmured. He took a deep breath and held his camera up with a slightly angry expression. "Have you seen an SD card? It's not in my camera and it has all of my pictures on it. Please, I need it."

"Sorry, no," Jerome denied.

"Where did you leave your camera last? It might have fallen out." KT said.

"It's not likely, but possible. I set it on a barrel and I walked away for only a minute. I tried to take a picture, but it can't save without the memory." He explained.

"I'm sorry, I don't think any of us have seen it," Mara answered and everyone nodded their heads in confirmation. "But we'll keep an eye out for it."

"Thank you," he nodded and stalked off.

"Guys," someone hissed behind a pile of crates once Gibson had marched out of sight.

The four turned to the other side of the crates and Willow grinned, jumping into her boyfriend's arms.

"Alfie, where have you been?" she scolded.

"Trailing Grant and stealing the SD card from his camera." He returned, shooting a look Joy's direction.

"What? He was taking pictures of the artifacts." She defended herself.

"He was what?" Jerome cut in.

"Grant was sneaking into a few of the tents and I'm pretty sure he was taking pictures of everything." She clarified.

"Great," KT said simply, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, we're looking for the others. Have you seen them?" Mara wondered.

"I have," Jerome told her. He jerked his thumb toward the west side of camp where, in the distance, Patricia, Eddie, Fabian and Robert stood.

As the teens grew closer to them, they set their shovels down.

"Hey, what's going on out here?" KT asked excitedly, running up to stand next to Eddie.

"Say hello to the lost tomb, everybody," He grinned triumphantly, motioning to the dusty doors that lay before them.

* * *

**Review?**

**I'll update as soon as I can! :) School's been taking a lot out of me...**

**_"Rise up and celebrate your life. We're not alone in our Ritual. Sing for what you feel inside; becoming one with our Ritual..."_**

**-Rachel**


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